


A Bit of Flowers Never Hurt Anybody

by Choppywheat



Category: NCT (Band), We Go Up - NCT Dream (Music Video), Without You - NCT U (Music Video)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Blood Drinking, Blood Magic, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Death, Depressing, Depression, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Hedge Witch, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Magical Boys, Minor Character Death, Mischief, NCT 2018, NCT 2019, Near Death, Non-Consensual Blood Drinking, Plot, References to Depression, Sad and Happy, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Smut, Suicidal Thoughts, Violence, Werewolf Biology, Werewolf Mates, Werewolves, Witch Curses, Witch Hunts, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-06-26 17:36:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 49,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19773136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Choppywheat/pseuds/Choppywheat
Summary: A very glittery boy shows a reluctant Donghyuck what goes bump in the night





	1. Itty Bitty

Sometimes, Donghyuck felt like he was cursed. 

Like that one time when his batshit crazy, old coot of a boss decided to get a cat for ‘reasons’, which he presumed were rodent related, and Donghyuck couldn't stop sneezing for weeks. Some days, even though its been a month since he 'accidentally' let the cat outside, he sweeps out some stray cat hair from behind some a candy stand or something and instantly plummets into a sneezing fit. Or that other time in middle school when a boy kissed him and then told the entire school that Donghyuck was gay. In the end, the guy came out as Bisexual in highschool and somehow ended up as Donghyuck's best friend.

Sighing glumly, the orange haired male thrummed his fingers rhythmically on the filthy counter he was leaning on, his mind not failing to remind him of this unfortunate fact as a deep, rumbling started to grow outside of the building. The old cash register muffled the sound of its jingling coins as a train floored by the gas station, literally, the tracks just behind the back wall, resulting in several items to fall from the shelves. The cramped building was shuddering, dust falling from the ceiling tiles and placing itself onto the boy's fiery locks like fresh snow. He could even faintly hear the drinks that resided behind the cooler doors just out of his line of sight clinking against each other. 

Puffing air through his cheeks, Donghuck heaved himself out of his chair and walked through the counter's door, grumbling something about 'missing classes for minimum wage and lung debris'. As the boy crouched down to collect all of the fallen bags of beef jerky, the rumbling started to fade into a faint grumble, allowing the sound of the door opening to reach his ears.

It was probably Jeno, who insists on walking him home because of his late night shifts. That, and he likes to steal a bag of chips or two. College students living on a minimum wage budget have to get crafty in order to survive, and this was Jeno’s ‘crafty’ way of surviving.

He made his way back to the dinky chair behind the counter, not bothering to look at his friend. "Only take one today, Mr.Kim is starting to get suspicious." He called, packing up the books that were splayed across the counter for studying purposes.

Jeno cleared his throat twice, obviously trying to get Donghyuck's attention, so the ginger sighed and looked up. "Jeno, just grab-" 

Now, funnily enough, it wasn't Jeno that had walked in, but a cute boy with a weird outfit on. His face was all angles, hollow cheeks, and milky skin. He had thin pink lips, wide eyes, and black hair that was stuck up everywhere, scattered with glitter and itty bitty wild flowers. The boy was wearing a maroon waistcoat over a black long-sleeved shirt, with matching black dress pants and shoes. He stepped closer to the counter, looking a little awkward because he had obviously caught an employee allowing someone to steal. So, Donghyuck did himself, and the guy, a favor and looked back down to finish cleaning up. 

When working a gas station shift at any time of night from 12:00 am to 5:00 am, Donghyuck can easily describe it as entering a different dimension. Theres the soft lull of the freezers in the background, filling the room with a hazy fuzz, there are flickering lights, and as an added plus, the customers usually dont try to talk to you. 

However, as Donghyuck ignored the man inching closer to the counter, the guy has the audacity to open his mouth and _speak_. It would've been fine if it was small talk, because small talk is easy and easily forgotten, but when the man opened his mouth, something _stupid_ came out. Stupid enough to make Donghyuck look back up without his customer service smile.

"Do you happen to sell plants here?"

Donghyuck's head slowly raised so that he could see the offender, squinting at the guy, his lips parting with incredulity as he processed the question. 

"Uhh." He paused, giving the guy time to laugh it off and say 'just kidding'. "No....." He paused again, hoping he would either walk away or admit the joke. "Sir, this is a Gas station."

"Yeah." The shimmering male paused, his eyes looking down like he had to think about it. "Yeah I know, but no one else is open right now and I really need a certain plant." He replied, looking back up to meet Donghyucks eyes. 

Again, if this was happening any other time than two in morning, Donghyuck would have put on his smile and kindly let it go, but this guy hadn't walked away yet, and Donghyuck was tired.

Donghyuck stuffed his fingers through his Ginger hair, forcing them through the knots with irritation. "So you decided to go to a gas station? For plants?"

"Yes." The boy seemed to get the hint, and his temper must’ve been similar to Donghyuck's, because he answered indignantly, nodding his head once for finality. "Its not _that_ weird."

"It's weird." The ginger assures, grimacing a little. "Why do you need plants at two in the morning? Go buy some tomorrow."

"If I could, I would, but I need them now. I ran out of sage." He insisted, saying it like it was obvious why he would need that plant as soon as possible.

Donghyuck turned back to his stuff, shoving them in his bag. "If you wanna try your luck in the woods out back then you're welcome to do so. I wont report you for trespassing, I promise."

The plant man scoffed. "No, thanks..." He crossed his arms across his chest and squinted, looking for the ginger's name tag. "...Donghyuck. I'll gladly call your boss though, and tell him about....Xeno? Was it?" 

Speak of the devil. 

"Hey Hyuck, sorry I'm la-" Jeno, who had picked the perfect moment to walk through the front door, let his eyes fall on the man in the waistcoat. His eyes turned to crescents as he held back a laugh. "Woah, did you just come from an emo EDM festival or something?”

This made Donghyuck suck in a breath, his eyes widening as he cut his hand across his own neck to hopefully send a signal for his friend to shut up, and the inky haired male roll his eyes, sending a threatening glance in Donghyuck's direction. 

Jeno was pointedly ignoring his best friends silent plea, and spoke again when no one answered him. "No? Fairy-steampunk tea party?" He asked with a huge grin. He opened his mouth to say more, but someone pushed passed him. 

It was Donghyuck's coworker. She was some goth girl he didn't really know, but he would definitely mentally note that she saved him and his friend.

"If you'll excuse me, Mr. Sage, I've got to go now. Im sure my coworker can help you." The ginger rushed, snatching up his stuff and walking over to towards Jeno. He avoided eye contact, hurrying past him and out the door. Jeno followed, after grabbing a bag of chips and sending the goth a sharp glare, of course. 

—————

The next day was just as abnormal as the last. 

Donghyuck had somehow been scheduled for a morning shift, which was stupid because that meant going back to his shitty job at six am. 

Three hours of sleep. 

The ginger tip-toed his way out of his and Jeno's shared apartment, descending the steep metal staircase that led up to their floor. 

At night, when he and Jeno walk home, they get to witness the bustling people of the day morph and twist into the dark creatures of the night. 

Smoking anything from marijuana to black tar heroin,

Drinking,

Stealing,

Dealing,

Stripping,

Paying,

Inhale,

Writhing,

Exhale,

Touching,

And both boys loved it, perfectly happy watching from afar. 

The morning tribute to work, however, was the complete opposite. He got to see all of the nocturnal killers wash their bloodied hands and blend back in with the noise of society.

Typing,

Driving,

Laughing,

Eating,

Trading,

Buying,

Inhale,

Running,

Exhale,

Smiling.

He likes it better the other way, the darker way. At least he can fantasize about having a night life, then, a life of living instead of the life he was given. A life of his own, thats what he wanted. Still, he watched in silence, or didnt watch at all.

As he reaches the halfway mark to the gas station, he passes a flower shop. A flower shop that a _very_ familiar male is standing outside of.

Today, the boy was wearing a periwinkle waistcoat, over a white dress shirt and grey dress pants. He still had that same, messy black hair decorated with teeny flowers and lots of glitter. Donghyuck, being one of the nicest human beings he knows, decides to not talk to him, not wanting to be annoyed, or blackmailed because of his and Jeno's 'borrowing' exposure, this early in the morning.

The guy was just standing there, staring at the door like he could make the shop owner arrive an hour early and open the store. Donghyuck made a wide arc around him, the consistency of his staring making the ginger uncomfortable. Somehow, without looking away, he spoke.

"Back to work so soon?" 

The ginger mentally cursed, stopping in his tracks and putting on a hesitant smile before looking over his shoulder. "Yup, gotta go, I'll be late." He muttered, turning back around. 

"You know what? I'll walk with you. I was going to head there myself." He admitted with a cheerful grin. When he turned to look at Donghyuck, he had purple eye shadow smudged on his eyelids, and pastel purple glitter on his cheek bones. It made the corner of Donghyuck's mouth curl upwards. 

—————

The walk was a mistake. It was so painfully _awkward_ , and it made Donghyuck feel like breaking into a full on sprint to get away. Eventually, he decided to speak instead. 

"I dont know your name." He stated flatly, almost accusingly. The ginger didnt mean for it to leave his lips that way, he would swear on it, but it was five-thirty in the morning and the sun was still no where to be seen. 

"You didnt ask." The male scowled, furrowing his eyebrows at Donghyuck's tone. After a couple beats of silence he spoke again. "Its Mark."

"Well, Mark, you never answered my question yesterday." He retorted, and when he sent a glance in the black haired boy's direction. He looked unbothered.

"Yes I did," he responded, sounding annoyed. "You just weren't listening." 

"Saying 'I need sage' is not a reason for needing sage." Donghyuck deadpanned, rolling his eyes until they landed on Mark, who just so happened to meet his gaze. His eyes, and this struck Donghyuck so hard he almost stopped walking, were a vibrant leafy green. 

He really was a plant boy.

"It is if you're a witch." Mark responded, making Donghyuck a little unsettled because of how serious he sounded. He snorted anyways.

"Oh, sure. I mean, that would explain everything else." He said as sarcastically as he could, gesturing towards his ensemble.

All Mark did was scowl, not bothering to respond, but he DID walk ahead of Donghyuck, which made the ginger grin.

—————

Within minutes, Donghyuck came to the conclusion that plant boy must've been even more cursed then he was, because as the dirty walls of the gas station came into view, the ginger spotted a very familiar Volkswagen. 

"Shit." Donghyuck hissed, stopping mid-step. 

Mark turned to look at him, some of the glitter from his hair falling onto his shoulder from the action. He grinned. "You dont like Mr.Kim?" 

Donghyuck could've sworn his eyes almost popped out of his head. "You know him? Wait wait, more importantly, you _like_ him?" 

"Whats not to like?" He replied, his shit-eating grin widening as he looked down on Donghyuck.

Before the shorter boy could send a vulgar insult back to the very sparkly Mark, Mr. Kim hobbled over to them. 

Mr. Kim was the shortest man Donghyuck had ever laid eyes on, his back misshapen and stuck in a forever slouch. He had wispy, scattered white hairs on his nearly bald head, a very, very thin beard that reached the old man's bellybutton, and eyes that always seemed to be closed, too sunken into their sockets to be properly seen. He had some sort of staff, he often hits Donghyuck on the head with it, which had the head of a bear carved at the very top. In between its jaws was a little red sphere of glass. 

Mark smiled even wider, his teeth impossibly white. Donghyuck grimaced. "Hello Mr. Kim." They said in unison, sending each other a sharp look.

"Minhyung! How good it is to see you! What brings you to this side of the tracks?" His voice, which was extremely weak and raspy, cracked with an excitement that Donghyuck had never seen in the man. He even seemed to straighten his posture a bit. The old man didn't turn his head to look at Donghyuck, but he raised a shaky hand and waved him towards the door, which made Mark choke back a laugh.

_Nope_ , he thought, _it's definitely just me, i'm the cursed one._

The ginger marched through the door, clocking in and throwing himself down on the broken spinning chair. Something in the back of his mind declared that he would remember Mark's real name, but he tried his best to crush it down, hoping he wouldn't be seeing the boy again at all. He watched with piercing eyes as the two males outside walked towards the door, talking animatedly and laughing, but once they entered, his attention snapped back to the crummy counter in front of him.

"...you called?" Donghyuck missed the beginning of the question, but he got the gist.

"I needed sage for an emergency. Its taken care of, but...I personally still need it." The glittery boy responded, sounding a little embarrassed. 

Donghyuck didn't look up, but he raised an eyebrow.

"And you decided to ask _him_ ," Mr. Kim lifted the base of his staff to point at the ginger picking at a wood chip. "You asked _that_ idiot to get it? He doesn't know jack about that kind of stuff." He said simply, eyeing the plant boy kindly. 

Donghyuck spoke up at that. "Sir, he came in at two in the morning, went into your gas station, and asked if we sell sage. Which we dont." He emphasized, sending a pointed look in Mark's direction.

"You're coworker gladly got me some from Mr. Kim's office." Mark sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "She probably just went out the back and grabbed some sort of weed," he jabbed a thumb in the general direction of the office. "and hoped you would either get out or fuck her." The ginger retorted. 

  
Mr. Kim held up a hand. "That's enough, Donghyuck. You should go home. I'll take over your shift." His shaky voice was stern, and final, but Donghyuck was always one to fight. 

Said boy's mouth dropped open, mostly in shock, and his eyebrows scrunched together. "But sir, rent is due next week and I need the hour-"

"Go home and sleep, boy." The man said, waving him away.

"Mr. _Kim_ -"

" _Watch your tone before you get yourself into something you cant handle._ " And when it came out it didn't sound forced, or empty. It was a real threat, and too ambiguous of one for Donghyuck to decide if it made him nervous or not. 

After a stunned pause, Donghyuck stiffly collected his things and clocked out, refusing to meet Mark's gaze.


	2. Glittery Threats, Pale Lovers

"God, whats wrong this time Hyuck, you've been like this all day." Jeno asked flatly, his attention directed everywhere else but his friend. His eyes were currently latched onto the movements of their waiter, who was speaking to a coworker and was supposed to be getting drinks.

"I lost eight hours of payed work today." He pouted, leaning an elbow on the table and letting his head rest on his hand.

Jeno didnt respond, but his lips pulled themself into a thin line. He knew how important each of their jobs were, and missing one shift meant missing lunch for a week. Once he finally met Donghyuck's gaze, his face relaxed, his lips parting as his eyes focused on the ginger's nose.

Of course, Donghyuck's hand flew up to his face, trying to spot what it was with crossed eyes. "What? What are you looking at?" The ginger swiped at it nervously, and when he looked at his hand, he saw glitter.

_God, no._

Donghyuck narrowed his eyes, glaring at a now smiling Jeno.

"You saw that freak this morning? What, is he stalking you?" He said, only half joking, not failing to notice the amount of displeasure that graced Donghyuck's features.

"He's the devil incarnate, Jeno. He knows my boss, no, even worse, my boss likes him! He's arrogant, he’s aggravating, and he’s really creepy." The boy counted on his fingers, his eyes closing as he annunciated every insult. "He's the reason we wont be eating next week, so you can thank him." He added, leaning back to cross his arms across his chest.

Here's the thing about why Donghyuck thinks he's cursed. Somehow, things always seem to happen in the _worst_ moments they could possibly happen, and somehow they always involve Donghyuck. Like now, for instance, when the very last voice Donghyuck wanted to hear sounded from behind him.

"You're not too pleasant yourself, Donghyuck." The tone was so irritatingly smug.

"Minhyung," The ginger turned his head to the side, keeping him in his peripherals just enough to see him stiffen at the name. "Didn't your parents teach you that eavesdropping is bad?" He grumbled, turning away once more.

"I'm not eavesdropping." He dismissed, but didnt dive further to explain himself, as he was looking to Jeno with sudden interest. "Zeno? Is it?" He looked up, obviously trying to recall the boy's name.

"It's - uh. It's Jeno." The boy stuttered, taking a mental note on how the green eyes that stared at him glittered with intention. Jeno couldn't tell exactly what intentions, not yet.

"...Jeno! I'm Mark, it's nice to meet you." He said with a grin, obviously not bothered in the slightest that he butchered one of the easiest names out there. To much of Donghyuck's amusement, Jeno was beginning to smile at the guys outfit.

"Yeah, uh-" He coughed, pulling off a straight face quite nicely as he ran a hand through his blonde hair. "You too, I guess. I see that you're as still as Steam punk as ever." He couldnt hold it anymore, his giggle floating across the room until people were sending amused glances to their table.

Donghyuck found himself smiling along with him, opening his mouth before he could stop himself. "No no, Jeno didn’t I tell you? He's a witch."

Jeno froze, for only a second, to open his eyes and let his smile fall. It seemed longer than it really was, but that second held the most fear Donghyuck had ever seen in Jeno's eyes.

The second passed, and Jeno was back to laughing.

Mark was silent.

"Anyways," Donghyuck cleared his throat with a smile. "we should head out. Come on Jeno, we should get home." He stood up abruptly, plastering on his customer service smile and attempting to walk past Mark. The latter caught him by his shoulder, his grip firm, and it sent a shiver down Donghyuck's neck. One look into those green eyes told him that he, too, saw Jeno's pause.

"Let me walk with you guys! I'd love to get to know you," he sent a glance at Jeno, and Mark didn't seem to notice how the blondes eyes were glued to where his hand met his friend’s body. "Both of you, better. Plus, the streets get dangerous after sundown. There's a killer on the loose, you know. He strikes at night."

Despite what Mark just said, Donghyuck laughed. It was high, and nervous, because he absolutely did _not_ know that people have been dying. The amount of times Jeno has gotten mad at Donghyuck for walking alone at night were countless, and with a quick glance at Jeno, he realized it was because he knew too.

A second realization hit seconds after: The killer is Mark.

Donghyuck's mouth opened and closed several times, trying to come up with an answer that will get Mark to leave them alone until they can get to a safe space. His voice had seemed so friendly, not unlike the smile on his lips, but the glint in Mark's eyes was something Donghyuck didn't like.

_How sure of yourself you must be, for you to hint at being a killer while offering to isolate two possible victims._ Donghyuck shuddered.

Jeno spoke up.

"No thanks, we gotta head home. It's getting late and Hyuck has work tomorrow. Some other time?" He reasoned, his voice sounding strangely kind as he took two steps forward to wrap a possessive arm around Donghyuck. He didnt have to look to know that Jeno saw the hidden threat too.

Donghyuck had nowhere else to look but Mark, his face closer than its ever been before. The color green had always registered as something that meant new life to Donghyuck, but as he looked into Marks eyes he saw ice, and danger. Some of the glitter from the boys hair had fallen onto his eyelashes, making them shimmer as he blinked. No one moved, no one spoke, but Mark's fingers tightened ever so slightly on his shoulder before letting go.

The only thought that flashed through Donghyucks mind was _he's going to fucking kill us,_ but he desperately shoved it away, sinking into the comfort of Jeno's side.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Donghyuck." He said calmly, his green eyes not leaving the boy's face.

Nodding once, Jeno led his friend out of the restaurant, the moonlight reflecting off of the recently rained-on pavement as they moved.

There was a bad taste in Donghyuck's mouth, a sour one, one that he hasn't tasted before. It was a mix of two unfamiliar emotions. Two emotions that, in his obnoxiously normal life, he didnt have the chance to feel very often.

The first, was actual anger. Pure, salty anger that made his eyes water a little, and made is mouth so suddenly dry that he felt he was choking on dust. Maybe, and this was just the ginger's theory, he was feeling it because he had really needed the shift. He definitely _didn't_ have work tomorrow, no matter what Jeno said to get out of there. The fact that Mark had the gall to lose him his much needed hours, and then on top of that go out of his way to touch him, _that_ made him feel anger. As the encounter replayed in his mind, the feeling surged through his veins, making him clench his teeth. As it flew through him he knew it wasn't that. Those reasons were small, but valid. The real reason was petty. It was his arrogance. The black haired boy spoke with too much authority in his voice. He thought he was better than Donghyuck, smarter. It wasn't salty anymore, it was hot, it boiled through his throat.

With it, came a second emotion. One that was almost unrecognizable. Pure, ground shaking fear. It was a small taste, mixed in with so much anger that it was almost untraceable, but it was there. The smallest, yet strongest, of pinpricks in Donghyuck's chest. This was a dark feeling, a feeling that was like sulfur and rot and open wounds filled with ice cubes. A feeling that, when addressed, made the boy unintentionally press further into Jeno's side. It was the leafy green yet lifeless eyes that made this pinprick, he was sure, but Mark had also taken time out of his day to follow him, to talk to him, to try and take him home. He took it upon himself to target the ginger after work, with no excuse. _That_ is why he was scared. _He was going to kidnap me._

By now, it was dark enough to where the two boys tucked against each other were the only two on the street, clinging to the light that the streetlights poured onto the sidewalk. It wasn't usually creepy, since the two boys often walked these roads when heading back home, but their encounter with Mark had Jeno tightening his hold on Donghyuck with every noise, and the ginger was constantly glancing behind him.

"Hyuck, what the hell _is_ he?"

Donghyuck stopped walking.

"He's not really a witch...right?"

Jeno sounded...nervous, something Donghyuck rarely heard. Jeno was all confidence and possessiveness and smiles. _This_ Jeno was all shivers and frowns and paranoia.

_This_ Jeno also just said something incredibly stupid.

" _That's_ what you're worried about? You're worried about him being a witch?" Donghyuck hissed, shocked.

Jeno frowned. "Aren't you?! Dont underestimate witches dude, they're dangerous."

Donghyuck brought a hand to his face, sighing in relief as he realized that this was a joke. The only thing he was waiting for was Jeno's laugh.

And he waited.

"Donghyuck?"

_Oh god_.

"Jeno, no. No, he's not a witch. Are you kidding me?" Donghyuck wasn't nervous anymore, the anger and fear taking over his tongue and speaking for him. His words were incredulous and he laughed again, high and jittery.

"If you're really worried about him being a witch, then what I'm about to tell you is gonna be a real doozy." The ginger shook his head, knowing that his words are gonna hurt later. "Witches don't exist, Jeno, but this murderer does. In fact, we should go straight to the police, because if I'm not mistaken, he's got his crosshairs set on us!"

"Fine. Never mind. Let's get home. Forget that I ever brought it up." Jeno, the usually open, blunt Jeno, shut down.

—————

The two didnt speak much after that. They continued their trek, still alone on the streets that were usually swarmed with bodies talking, breathing, laughing, walking.

That is, until they _weren't_ alone.

There was a boy, a couple inches shorter than Donghyuck, with platinum hair leaning against the brick wall of the "late-nights" pizza parlor, which was a popular college student hangout. The neon sign flickered above the short boy, and from the color it made on his skin, Donghyuck could see he was pale. Mark came to mind, and Donghyuck frowned, moving towards Jeno.

But Jeno wasn't next to him anymore, he was a foot behind him, looking at the boy across the street. His expression was cloudy, and it seemed even cloudier when he started to make his way over the asphalt.

"Jeno?" Donghyuck felt a stab of uncertainty through his stomach, his friends name falling out of his mouth squeakier than he meant it. Something gripped his chest, his lungs feeling squeezed and his heart starting to stutter in a panic. "Jeno?!" He started towards his friend, only thinking about how he's never seen a boy that pale before, and how Mark was probably looking for them.

Before Donghyuck could reach Jeno, the pale boy spoke. "Jeno? Is that you?" He sounded so...

...hopeful?

Donghyuck froze, his anxiety melting away into an uneasy relief. Then, quick enough to hide how impossible the encounter was, to the burning feelings from earlier. "Jeno, you're a psychopath. Answer me next time you idiot." He snapped. Again, no answer. Instead, Jeno strode towards the boy, cupping his face and-

_Oh,_

_This is new._

Donghyuck almost turned away to start walking home, not wanting to see his best friend kissing someone he didn't know, but an image of Mark flashed across his mind, and he started walking towards them instead. The boy noticed, gently unlatching himself from Jeno, who tilted his head, his eyes cloudy and confused. The boy then gestured to Donghyuck.

"Oh."

_Ouch_. Donghyuck frowned, trapped between stomping inside the pizza parlor or risking the walk home. Jeno didnt save him this time, still staring at him in confusion, so the boy did.

"Tell him." He murmured, leaving a kiss on the corner of Jeno's jaw. He looked to Donghyuck as he did, his eyes black. His iris' were too big, too much if a void of color compared to his skin. The only color that didnt seem to be white or black on the boy was his lips, and the waterline of his eyes, which were a startling red. And for a moment, only a moment, Donghyuck couldve sworn his too-big iris' were a rich ruby color.

But, that was impossible, and Donghyuck wanted to slap himself for thinking it.

As if Jeno was kickstarted by the kiss, he spoke.

"Get some pizza for us, and head home. I'm uh- I'll be there in a bit." He stuttered, having the decency to sound the tiniest bit apologetic.

Donghyuck visibly flinched at this. "Theres no way in Hell I'm going hone alone, What the hell is wrong with you?"

Too tired to say any more, Donghyuck simply shook his head, his eyes drifting over to the pale boy attached to him. "Ill get food, but im waiting for you inside." He said solemnly. Hastily turning around, he strode up to the door in pursuit of a meal in place of the one Mark had undeniably ruined, just barely catching a whisper from the pale boy and a soft sigh from Jeno in return.

—————

"Jesus fucking christ." Donghyuck fumed, sitting down on a stool with the pizza box in hand. "I even texted him that I was still here, where the fuck is he?!" He mumbled to himself angrily, his hands fumbling for his phone as he struggled to balance the pizza box with one hand. He opened his messages, scoffing when his eyes scan over the 'read' notification. "Fucking douche."

It's been well over thirty minutes, and Donghyuck hasnt left the pizza joint due to his strong will to live. So, since he had opted to waiting for Jeno, who was no doubt doing his _friend_ in the alleyway next to the building, he has been stuck here for half an hour.

Irritated to no end at Jeno's ability to drop anything for sex, Donghyuck stood up to go ruin his fun. As he passed through the thinning crowd of people, they sent glances in his direction, no doubt because the ginger looked ready to kill.

Striding out onto the street halted his concentration briefly, the fresh air filling his body with a momentary calm and causing his eyes to close, before the wind carried a familiar giggle to his ears. Snapping his eyes open, he spun towards the dark space between the brick building of the pizza parlor and the smooth concrete wall of an office supply store next door. He hesitated, his determination waning once more as he realized he was alone. Sure, he could scream, but Mark would probably kill him before he could.

A noise came out of Donghyuck at the thought, one between a squeal and a groan, angry at himself for being scared of the dark, of _Mark_.

_He's just a normal guy. He's a freak who wears glitter and flowers._ Donghyuck chanted inwardly, _Thats it. Why would he want to come after you?_

Shaking his head, he forced air through his nose and stomped towards the alley. The flickering lights of the neon pizza sign didnt quite reach into the alley enough, and there was a faint light illuminating the alley from a lonely lantern hooked into the concrete wall to the left, making every object a mass of shadow and black ink. He squinted, taking a reckless step forward as he heard another noise from the couple. Once his eyes adjusted enough, he spotted the outline of two bodies pressed against the wall directly under the lantern. The light was faint, yes, but Donghyuck could still understand what was happening.

Judging by the size of the boy pressed against the wall, it was clearly Jeno, receiving some very messy kisses to his neck. His eyes were closed, lips curving into a grin as a shaky sigh escaped them. His hands were carding through the pale boy's hair, creating curls as his fingers stopped to wring the hair around. He pulled the boy off, trying to dive to meet his lips, but he was pushed back against the wall again instead. His head hit the wall with a gross smack, but showed no signs of discomfort when the boy went back to peppering his neck.

A crackle of thunder carried itself across the sky, making Donghyuck flinch. They should get home before the rain started. He moved to step forward, but something odd caught his eye.

Jeno's mouth was gaping like a fish, shallow breaths bouncing off of the alley's walls, and he was struggling to find a grip on his counterpart, but the boy wasnt moving his mouth around Jeno’s neck anymore. 

Donghyuck scrunched his nose. _This is gross_. He thought, shuffling forward a little. He thought about jumping out right then, but something made him stop, something that told him this was very wrong.

He's so, _so_ cursed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the posing notifications, im doing some light editing.


	3. Enlightening Lightning

Its in the way Jeno's knees buckle. In the way his body hit the filthy ground of the alleyway and doesn't even twitch, the way the gurgling coming from the Jeno's throat didn't stop the pale boy from crashing his lips onto his skin once more.

No, it's in the way the _smell_ reaches Donghyuck's nose when the sky starts to cry scattered tears. In the way a flash of lightning lights up the world around him and he gets to really see what's happening.

Its was so small, at first, the seed of fear that Mark had planted into Donghyucks chest, the one that he would do anything to keep from growing. It's the one that whispers to him about what goes bump in the night, that insists Mark could be behind every corner, that Mark could already be at their house, waiting for him. That very same seed cracked as the lightning did, exploding into a terrible, plagued sapling that grew and grew until every tendril filled Donghyuck's lungs entirely. And when it grew, it _hurt_. It hurt like a held back sob, like unshed tears, like being too terrified to look away.

And Donghyuck _was_ too terrified to look away. That lightning, the very same visual shock that opened Mark's seedling and let it suffocate him, lit up the alleyway, showcasing the pale boy and his too red mouth, Jeno's too red body.

Donghyuck backed up, his head not quite understanding yet, and his ankles caught on garbage bags he had previously stepped over in his haste, the pizza spilling itself onto the wet alleyway cobblestones and his cell phone skidding across the stones to land in a small puddle. He fell.

Donghyuck's backside landed in a growing puddle that was slowly trickling to connect with the puddle Jeno was currently piled in, the puddle that was too red to only be water. He was only a short distance away from the two when another flash of lightning provided more of the unwanted scenery for the ginger, his eyes flying wide and his gasp sounding like a choked cry.

The pale thing was hunched over Jeno's torso, still kissing his neck. Thats what it was. Kissing. But he was kissing too hard, too hungrily, when the human he was pressed against was getting paler by the second, limp in his hold. The creature's head moved a little, starting a new kiss of death. When he opened his mouth, that enlightening lightning struck once more, glinting off of sharper-than-human teeth, teeth that looked like thick needles made of bone, teeth that sunk into the flesh of Jeno's neck like a well made sword through air, no resistance, in any meaning of the word, to be found.

Donghyuck wanted to run, but he _couldnt_. The lightning had grabbed him by his throat, shoving the scene down his mouth to feed the sprout in his lungs, that same plant of fear growing more as he just _watched_ , unsure if it was real yet. He wanted to scream, he wanted to hide, he wanted to run away and never go back, but Jeno was being sucked dry by a _vampire_ , and Donghyuck wouldnt let himself live if he ran away.

As the word crossed his mind, it finally slapped him across the face, the realization of what was happening. Donghyuck felt it bubble in his chest before it happened, almost like a burp, but it was so ravenous and thorny, it tore apart his throat as it ripped itself out of the ginger's body.

It was a scream.

A scream that made leaves fall off of trees and made apples rot out of pure apprehension for what could've possibly caused that scream. It seemed to arouse some of the fight that Jeno usually had, the fight that this Jeno would never be able to handle, who gurgled and used as much strength as he could to lift his arms, clawing and pushing at the pale being hovering over him, at the _vampire_.

Seeing the fleeting life, but life nonetheless, in his best friend, summoned the warm feeling of hope in his chest, and _god_ he wanted to run towards it and nurture it to life, but when Donghyuck could clear his teary, rain filled eyes enough to get a clear look at Jeno, he found the piercing, fiery red eyes of the vampire instead. The monsters face was that of nightmares, something vampire movies had not prepared him for, and Donghyuck didnt feel it this time, the bubbling in his chest before another scream ripped through his throat and clawed through his lips. The scream came out too fast, sounding more like a broken sob than a sound of fear. It sounded like loss.

The beast's porcelain skin that it had before was long gone, dark purple veins popping out all over the creatures face and arms. His skin looked even paler than before, contrasting violently with the deep purple of its veins, and if you looked real hard, you could see it's latest _meal_ writhing just under the surface. Wrinkles exploded from the corners of its eyes as its eyebrows drew together, meeting in the middle with two deep creases, his eyes never leaving Donghyuck.

It was pouring, the sky sobbing down relentlessly upon the dying and the deadly, mourning the loss of Jeno, mourning the release of one of Dante's monsters, and Donghyuck couldn't see much other than the monsters eyes and the outline of the heap that is Jeno's body. Donghyuck was sobbing loudly, begging and blubbering to the creature for mercy, trying to scream and whimper out prayers to any and all god or goddess' that were all snuffed out in his throat.

He didnt believe in anything. Not anymore, he couldn't, not after this. After something like this, after Mark's unholy seedling had begun to exponentially grow inside of Donghyuck, suffocating him and threatening to grow out of his ears, there was no room for gods or goddesses here.

The boy had dismounted the heap on the ground, taking slow, sure steps towards Donghyuck, who's eyes were stinging and his chest felt too tight, too full of that ever-growing plant taking his lungs hostage. And as he was approached by that boy, that pale boy from before who looked so innocent, sounded so excited calling out to Jeno, to _Donghyuck's_ Jeno, he realized that he was going to die.

When he felt small hands squeezing his sides, lifting him up, he scrunched his eyes shut, refusing to look at the demon as he thrashed in its hold. He shrieked, the breath knocked out of him as he was shoved against the scratchy bricks of the Pizza place. His shirt rode up his lower back, the bricks cutting into his soft skin with ease, his entire torso feeling crushed under the amount of power he was held with. His head lolled to the side, not to give up, he didn't want to think about how easy it was for him to give up, but to look at Jeno, to look at what he would be in due time.

Lightning.

He was almost as pale as the beast, his arms flung out to his sides uncomfortably and his legs bent unnaturally. Donghyuck could see he wasn't moving, he could see the blood that was still flowing from the multiple holes in his neck, he could see his gaping mouth, his frozen, panicked expression, but he still called out to him.

Lightning.

This bubbled too, Jeno's name, in his gut, on his tongue. It broiled, bubbling, boiling, heat increasing when the creature licked a cold, wet strip on his neck. He smelled of iron, of mint and vanilla, of-

"JENO!"

Lighting, And suddenly, the thing was gone, recoiling, as if the word had been louder than Donghyuck's other screams, as if it had scorched right through its chest, away from Donghyuck with a threatening hiss that was like water on a hot pan. Donghyuck didn't have time to think, didnt have time to process what was happening as his adrenaline finally took over. He practically flew, his figure scrambling up from where he had slumped against the wall and bounding as fast as he could to the bleeding heap of best friend collapsed in the alleyway. He drew his friend to his chest, fixing his limbs and scooping the boy up to try and pick him up, to try and run away with what was left. His sobs were nearly silent, his earlier eruptions leaving his throat raw, his voice trembling and quiet and squeaky.

He was being painted with Jeno's blood, and it made him cry harder, his legs buckling as he tried to pick the both of them up. It was warm and drying and sticky and the stench of it made Donghyuck want to vomit. He collapsed, sobbing as loud as he could into the crook of Jeno's neck, where it was bloody and the bite of the metallic filth almost covered the familiar smell of his friend, _almost_.

Lightning, thunder, wind, turrets of the sky's tears all mixed with blood and Donghyuck's cries. He couldnt get up anymore, the fleeting adrenaline and fear leaving his body exhausted. He was shaking violently, a leaf in the wind, and he curled himself around a sopping, leaking Jeno who wasn't breathing, who was colder than Donghyuck, and he cried and cried until the stench of iron and filth and rain made him vomit, and then he cried some more until nothing was left but to wait for the creature to come back and end the fear, to end the pain of the loss laying next to him.

Slender fingers curled around the back of his neck, prying Donghyuck away from Jeno with a gentleness that Donghyuck thought was too nice to be real, and the ginger let himself be guided by these fingers. He jumped ever so slightly, when his eyes didn't meet red, instead they met cold green eyes, eyes that belonged to a glittery haired male with milky skin.

"Donghyuck? Donghyuck, you have to try and get up, ok? It's gone, but we have to get you out of here." Mark said calmly, Donghyuck not able to understand the emotions in his eyes due to his own confusion.

After everything that just went down, after all of the screaming and bloodshed, Donghyuck couldnt handle this second danger. First the undead murderer, now the living. The ginger, or ex-ginger, given that there was so much dry blood in his hair that it looked brown, let a couple more tears fall over his cheeks, and used whatever weak strength he could to whisper a small "get away".

The cold eyes shifted, and if Donghyuck could remember this moment later, he would recognize hurt in that shift.

"Let me help you." He said sternly, any vulnerability gone.

And Donghyuck did, because he decided he would rather die by Mark's hands than that other things mouth.

He was helped up, weakly pushing away when Mark tried to pick him up, and gesturing towards Jeno. It didn't happen. The flowery male had already started walking back out of the alleyway, looking behind him once he realized Donghyuck wasn't by his side.

Donghyuck sniffed, determined, bending down to weakly wrap his arms around the limp body of his best friend. He struggled for a minute, his body squeezing the last of his tears out when two hands pushed him away. The hands were pulling him, vague words clashing with the immense exhaustion that racked his body, but before he knew it he was running, and tripping, then running once more to collapse next to his best friend. His only friend.

"Donghyuck. Donghyuck you have to leave him, we have to get you somewhere safe."

Somehow, there were even more tears. And suddenly, he was pulled up, and he was watching as the black haired boy picked the body up for him. Mark was carrying Jeno bridal style, the glitter and flowers in his hair somehow still in tact, and he once again set off in the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Donghyuck and Jeno :(


	4. The Supernatural

When consciousness came to coax Donghyuck awake, he denied it, at first, not wanting to open his eyes because he already knew what was waiting for him. He could smell the sharp iron scent of blood on him, could smell the rain and trash, yet, beneath him he felt the comfort of a mattress, and above him the warmth of a blanket. So, when he finally managed to crack open his sore eyes, he saw blurry black walls, and floating brown and silver blobs covering them, hanging from the ceiling and walls in clusters or large containers. There was a figure standing by the door, the colors and shapes registering somewhere deep in the ginger's foggy brain, but between one blink and the next, the figure was gone.

He brought the backs of his palms to his aching eyes, his cheeks stained with several things that he refused to address, and once he forced down the memories that tried to well up and suffocate him, he opened his eyes once more, met with an unfamiliar bedroom. In an instant, all of that prepping to handle consciousness was for nothing.

It welled up in his throat, still raw from the violent noises that had come out of him that night, and it grew, drifting down to his chest as he frantically slid his hands around him, trying to locate his phone. He got up, his breathing starting to quicken as he yanked the sheets off of the bed. More and more details of last night surfaced, his eyes seeing the blood under his nails and his nose smelling the dried tears on his face. His lower back stinging from the bricks. His heart crumbling with a broken, dry sob as he recalled an image of a bloody, lifeless Jeno.

Donghyuck was full on hyperventilating, his breaths ripping from his chest and hastily infiltrating his mouth. He spotted the door, lunging for it and hitting his head on several of the many hanging items in the room. His eyes were frantic, his harsh breathing sounding rough to his own ears. He didn't know where he was, and frankly, he hardly cared, the only thing on his mind was _Jeno, Jeno, JENO._

If it was even possible, there were tears in his eyes, even though he could've sworn he had lost them all. He was too tired to be running around, too tired to be worried, to be crying, so he walked backwards, moving until his back hit something he could collapse against.

It was like waking up without knowing who you are.

The amount of confusion and sorrow and absolute pain Donghyuck felt was suffocating, it was stabbing at his insides and cutting little pieces of him off to feed to Mark's sapling. It was noticeably bigger, Donghyuck imagined, now that the knowledge of vampires was settled in the vile plant's stomach, he could almost taste the rotten branches in his throat.

"You're not supposed to be up.”

Donghyuck almost sobbed hearing the voice, but forced it down, bringing his teary gaze up to glare at the figure instead.

"Where's Jeno?" He asked, but it didnt sound like him. His voice was raspy and far away to his own ears, painfully dragging its way up his esophagus. It didn't even sound worried, just sad and weak, like he had given up.

The voice belonged to Mark, who was dressed in another one of his waistcoat ensembles, this one being blue and silver, and had his trademark tousled hair splattered with silver glitter and tiny white petaled flowers. His gaze was neutral, almost contemplative, and set on Donghyuck, who was huddling himself against the wall across from him. He took a couple of paces forward, looming over the ginger. "You should go lay back down." He said, offering his hand out to the boy.

"Oh no," Donghyuck sniffed, pressing himself against the wall to keep his balance while rising. "No you don't." He looked up at the boy, frowning when Mark didnt seem bothered in the slightest that Donghyuck was now face to face with him, their noses only inches away from each other. "Where is Jeno?" His gravely voice cracked, and Mark instantly spun around to disappear through a doorway across the room. Donghyuck huffed, leaning his head back to touch the wall and letting his eyes scan the room.

It was the first chance he gave himself to actually see, and when he realized how similar this place was to a jungle Donghyuck sucked in a breath, only tasting the muggy air of life and soil. There were plants absolutely _everywhere_. Pots and pans were stacked on counters and against walls, filled with a heavy, rich smelling soil. Several different plants sprouted from each, behind the couch were thick vines creeping their way up the wall, and there were even some old ramen cups hanging from the ceiling with plants overflowing them. Mark re-entered the room, the foliage shifting around him, and he was clutching a steaming mug of something that had a foul smell, and was a greenish-brown color.

"Drink this." He ordered, holding the brown mug out to the shorter boy, who bristled.

"Im sorry, am I speaking Chinese? Where. The hell. Is Jeno. I saw him with you last, where did you take him? What did you do to him?" He crossed his arms over his chest, furrowing his eyebrows together. As tough as he wanted to sound, he knew that Mark could see straight through him. He knew the boy could see the dim light of fear flickering dangerously in his eyes.

"Donghyuck, take the fucking drink." Mark said passively, almost kindly, reaching forward to take Donghyuck's hand and forcibly curl the boy's fingers around the mug.

"No."

Mark's face stayed still, neutral. "Why not?"

"You're gonna kill me." And when the words left Donghyuck's mouth, his eyes flew wide.

_Fuck. I totally forgot. He's fucking insane. He's insane and I'm pissing him off. He's insane, and I voluntarily gave him my best friend._

Mark scoffed. "What makes you think that?"

"You're the murderer. The one you mentioned. It's you." He rasped, clutching the mug tight with anticipation. If he so much as blinked, the liquid was going straight into flower boys eyes.

Mark saw it too. "Donghyuck that's ridiculous. Don’t be an idiot. Why would I help you if I wanted to kill you?" His voice was calm, arrogant, but he didn't move.

_He thinks I'm stupid._

"How the hell should I know?! Maybe you have some possessive fetish. You want to kill your victims on your own terms."

All at once, Donghyuck was being held down, his arms forced together behind his back, and his ankles flying together. It all happened so fast, and Mark already had the mug secure in his slender fingers before Donghyuck started to fall.

The second he hit the floor, he started to writhe around. He eventually propped himself up against the wall, and when he did, he sent a scathing look at Mark. "How did you do that?" Sending a quick glance down, there were vines wrapped tightly around his legs. The boy didn't answer.

Looking back up to ask again, the green eyed boy was already plopped in front of him, clearly annoyed.

"Like I was saying, you need to drink this. Here," Mark took a long sip of the mixture, holding it in his mouth before swallowing loudly. "Nothing’s wrong with it. If anything, it'll help with your nerves, and pain."

After a long, skeptical look, Donghyuck sighed. "Fine, but I can’t exactly drink it all tied up."

Mark held out his hands, the mug coming in contact with Donghyuck's lips. "Drink."

Another sigh, and when his mouth opened to do so, Mark poured the contents of the mug into Donghyuck's mouth before he could protest.

It was warm, and a little salty, but didn't taste nearly as bad or dangerous as it smelled, so Donghyuck downed it all at once.

"So," And to Donghyuck's surprise, his voice sounded completely in tact. "Where is Jeno?"

Mark rolled his eyes. "Why, thank you Mark, so kind of you to help me after I accused you of being a murderer." He mimicked Donghyuck's higher pitched voice, pulling the mug back to his lap.

Donghyuck had to bite his lower lip to stop himself from going completely apeshit. "Dont-" He tried to bring a hand to his face, but they were still drawn behind his back. "Minhyung. I dont know you, I just woke up in some random house, my _best friend_ is probably _dead_ and _YOU_ were the _LAST_ person I saw him with, so _please_ for _FUCKS SAKE_ , where is Jeno?!" Donghyuck's words didnt reach past a whisper, but they held plenty of intensity, which was apparent in the way Mark raised an amused eyebrow.

"He's alive, thats all that matters." Mark answered, reaching to the mug on a table behind him. "Liz." He murmured, and to Donghyuck's surprise a plant tendril reached out and curled itself around the mug, slithering up the walls to carry it away to the kitchen. Donghyuck vaguely registered the fear sapling in his lungs tug at him, churning as it chewed the information and grew a little. The relief that shook his entire body at Mark's response was almost crippling, so it automatically overrode his thoughts as the vision of a living, smiling Jeno struck his mind. He stared at the boy in front of him, regaining confidence.

"Who are you?"

"Did you hit your head? Im Mark." The plant boy Froze. "Oh shit. I hope I didn't screw that elixir up."

"No, I mean who _are_ you." Donghyuck repeated, and when Mark said nothing, he felt ready to explode. "I’m gonna need you to answer my questions or I'll freak out."

"Ok, ok, I'll explain some things. What do you want to know?" Mark complied, holding his hands up defensively. He reached forward and traced a finger over the vines that held Donghyuck, then walked towards the couch, sitting down and motioning for Donghyuck to do the same.

He didnt.

"Was that- _thing_ , was it a vampire?" Donghyuck asked uncomfortably, never taking his eyes off of Mark as he carefully stood up. His body ached from last night, and that fall only made it worse.

Mark offered a crooked grin. "What else could've eaten your pal up like that?"

Donghyuck flinched, trying to recover from the sudden flash of a very bloody Jeno lying on the cobblestones across his eyelids when he blinked. "You're not being helpful."

Mark sighed. "Yes, _he_ is a Vampire."

Donghyuck's eyes flew wide. "They have genders?!"

"That's probably the most idiotic thing I've heard you say. Of course they do. Its not like the reproductive organs disappear once you're turned. They're people too, when it comes down to it." He snorted, sounding like this too was the most obvious thing in the world. "At some point, I'll have to teach you not to be racist towards the supernatural." The well-dressed male huffed, standing up from the couch and beckoning Donghyuck to follow with a wave of his hand.

"There's more?! Oh god." Donghyuck exasperated, his head starting to buckle under the weight of the new information, his chest tightening.

"Well it's unrealistic to have a sun curse without a moon curse, dont you think?" Mark humored the thought, sending Donghyuck a smile while striding through a doorway that lead to the kitchen. It was yet another room with pots and pans full of plants, vines all over the walls, and every breath was heavy with life and dirt.

"No, don’t tell me I have to deal with Werewolves too." Donghyuck shook his head, threading his fingers through the ginger locks.

"You got it." The boy applauded, his head disappearing into the refrigerator and reappearing with two slices of ham between his fingers. "There’s more than just those two, of course. There are a whole bunch of different magic users, the fae, demons, angels, and this one guy named Denny. He's not exactly supernatural, but he's the only human that the supernatural have all agreed to leave alone because he's the only doctor that knows how to treat us." Mark explains, nonchalantly ripping tiny pieces of the ham off and feeding them to a small Venus fly trap.

"So...what are you?" Donghyuck asked, fiddling with the hem of his shirt out of nerves. He didn't really want to know, but it might be necessary for his survival.

Mark hummed. "What do you think I am?" He turned towards Donghyuck, stopping in front of the boy to gauge his reaction.

"Well, at first I thought you were human." Donghyuck said honestly, pressing himself into the door frame when Mark smiled. The way Mark's attitude changed so quickly was unsettling.

"And now?" Mark asked, his head falling to the side as his mossy eyes crinkling at the sides in interest.

"Vampire. You're friends with the one who attacked Jeno." Donghyuck shook his head, his tone sharp, not wanting to warm up to a guilty-by-association killer.

Mark's smile fell into a scowl. "Its not his fault. And no, I'm not a vampire. I’m a witch." The boy didnt bother to motion for Donghyuck to follow him as he strode back out of the doorway, but the ginger couldn't help catching up when he heard the venus fly trap growl from behind him.

"Before you make any more assumptions, it really wasnt his fault—Or any vampires fault— But especially him. He's a fledgling." Mark continued, leading the way to a different room down a hallway covered in even more greenery than the kitchen, which says a lot. This room was no doubt Mark's. _This_ room didn't have plants in it, except for a single mini cactus on the bedside drawer pressed against the wall, but it _did_ have piles of books stacked precariously along the walls, animals skulls, crystals, and amulets with gems and sigils adorning every surface and ledge. There was a lonely window near the ceiling of the room, parallel to the door. The floor was weirdly clean, compared to the walls and every other surface, and Mark closed the distance between the door of the room and the twin sized bed squished into the corner with five strides, plopping down with a sigh.

"What’s him being a fledgling got to do with anything?" Donghyuck asked, clearly irritated. Nonetheless, he sat down next to the witch, at the other end of the bed. "Like, what does that even mean?"

"He doesn't know how to control his urges, so Jeno was probably his first kill." Mark replied easily, realizing his mistake in wording when he saw Donghyuck's face. He had struck an open nerve.

"He killed my best friend?! You said he was alive! Shouldn't the other supernatural guys be in charge of him?!"

Mark shook his head. "Donghyuck, these people didn't choose this. They were either born into it, or turned without consent. Its a horrible curse that is torture to go through. Its having all of the warmth leave your body, and having to never see the light of day again, with few exceptions. You have to drink blood to survive, but even if you dont, you wont die, you'll just starve and become feral, and since you've been introduced to the supernatural world, I've been assigned to make you aware of such things." He explained, and Donghyuck couldn't help the swift strike of sympathy he felt for the vampire from the alley, before he cast one look at his fingers and saw the dried blood under his nails and forgot all about it.

"So...where is Jeno? Is he ok? Is he being treated? Is he-" Donghyuck broke off with the smallest gasp he's ever produced, sucking in a larger breath when he imagined Jeno's face all contorted, like when the vampire was feeding last night. Purple veins and red eyes, the ginger had to suppress a shiver. Thankfully, Mark started to speak.

"He's at a friend's house, a friend of mine who can help him get better. I don’t know how he's currently doing, but im supposed to get a daily update." Mark sounded confident, and it made Donghyuck want to feel better, but something twisted in his stomach. The glittery male moved to get up, opening his mouth to speak, but Donghyuck grabbed his forearm without thinking.

"Is he going to be one of those things? A vampire?"

Mark froze, relaxing as he processed the question. His green eyes had golden flakes in them, Donghyuck belatedly realized, when Mark leaned down to look him in the eye. "I don’t know yet, but my friend will message me soon." He gently pat Donghyuck's shoulder. "That's enough questions, get some rest. If you need me, I'll be in the living room." And before Donghyuck could say otherwise, the shimmering male was gone.

—————

Sleep fought Donghyuck, his mind plagued with all of the new information of the supernatural world. Meaning, he had a skull splitting headache, and could only see the vampires sharp fangs and striking red eyes when his eyelids tried to flutter shut. He let out a soft groan, pushing himself up into a sitting position to take in his surroundings.

He gazed around Mark's room, or what he assumed was Mark's room, just as he assumed he was in Mark's house. He made a mental note to ask just in case. Donghyuck didn't remember seeing the clutter of this room when he woke up, and he sifted through his panicked memories to try and remember exactly what he _did_ see. He gave up, unable to tell through how foggy the memory is.

He sat there for a bit, mindlessly fiddling with the thick blanket pooled around his waist as questions flooded his consciousness.

_Why did this happen to me? Why did Mark try and walk us home the day Jeno was attacked? Why did Jeno go so willingly? Did they know each other? Did Mark know this was going to happen? Why does Mark seem so....involved. Why am I not in the same house as Jeno? Why can’t I see him?_

Shaking his head, the boy pushed the pestering questions to the back of his brain, and looked up, remembering the unknown objects that had slapped against his head when he had been searching for his phone. There were small models of the planets, small little colorful orbs with sigils etched into them, and flat shapes that had little words written in a different language scribbled on them.

He didn't question how they weren't nearly as low hanging as before.

His eyes were drawn to the window set high on the wall which offered a glimpse of the night sky, telling Donghyuck that the sun had set long ago. The room was just as cluttered as before, lit by the shafts of moonlight filtering in from the window, and he could see the light reflecting off of the crystals around the room. He stretched his arms over his head, standing up and padded softly towards the living room.

The foliage didn't seem to move for Donghyuck, slapping and sliding across his face without mercy. He opted to walking in a slight crouch, straightening only when he saw Mark. The boy sat straight as an arrow on the floor in front of the couch, and from where he stood, Donghyuck could hear the boy's deep, steady breathing. His legs were crossed and his hands gripped his knees, eyes closed and fluttering behind silver smudged eyelids. In front of him was a large leather bound book, splayed open to a page that had feathery writing filling every space on it. Not able to help himself, Donghyuck sent a glance up at Mark, silently crouching in front of the book. He spun it around slowly, wincing as something on the cover scraped against the hardwood floor. When he ducked his head down to sneak a peek at what it was, he saw a large orange gem bound to the cover, causing Donghyuck to mutter something about witches and their apparent obsession with shiny things.

He flipped through the thick pages, seeing a variety of things. There were protection spells, logs about different herbs and their uses, crystals, candles, sigils, and some of the pages were written in a completely different language.

"Let go of the book before it bites you."

Donghyuck fell back on his butt, gasping as the book snapped itself shut and shot towards Mark's lap as soon as the boy spoke. He looked to the boy, still sitting in that meditative position, the only new thing about it was that there was a _purring_ book in his lap, preening under Mark's repetitive strokes to its cover. The glittery boy slit one eye open, his eyebrows quirking.

"Lesson one: never touch a Witch's Grimoire." He sounded like he had woken up from a deep sleep, the tone deeper than before, a little rough around the edges.

Donghyuck could only nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is sort of a Lore/Plot heavy chapter, but at least Mark and Donghyuck aren't trying to kill each other in this interaction.


	5. Lesson 2

Dreary is a boring word, by definition, and the word dreary used to pop into Donghyuck's brain often. The next couple of days were anything but dreary.

In the morning, the glittery male was nowhere to be found. The only trace of him was a note fluttering at the door of Mark's room. Donghyuck frowned.

_"I'll be back in four days. Ive set everything up for you. Dont cook, clean, or touch anything except what the cards tell you to. Donghyuck, seriously, I'll know if you do. If you need to reach me, there is a plant named Lizzie who can write and send me letters for you. She lives in the couch cushions, so no jumping on the sofa._

_Dont be an idiot,_

_Mark."_

After Donghyuck had received a sleepy scolding from Mark, who was supposedly meditating when the ginger had "very rudely interrupted", and a cup of sour tasting tea that made his head feel like it was filled with feathers, the boy was lead back to Mark's room, falling asleep almost as soon as he hit the bed.

He had felt as close to safe as he could feel right about now.

Now, with Mark gone this morning, Donghyuck didn't feel anything. No stress over witches and vampires, only a fast acting curiosity when the letter exploded like a harmless red firework as Donghyuck grabbed for it. A surprised giggle escaped his lips as he found another letter just outside the door, fluttering a couple inches away from his nose with golden, glittery wings that looked like tinsel.

Before his eyes could start reading, the letter seemed to sway, beckoning Donghyuck to follow. It led him to a small bathroom, still flitting away when Donghyuck tried to read its contents. He grinned, putting his hands up defensively and padding into the small bathroom.

It was filled with plants, just like every other room in Mark's house, but somehow this room seemed more...alive. There were little twinkles peeking through some of the leaves, movement and buzzing filling the room. The door was pushed shut behind him, causing the poor boy to jump and shoot his eyes around in search of the offender— who just so happened to be a little tiny humanoid with moth wings. Donghyuck gasped, his eyes sparkling as he crouched in front of the little thing, who fluttered up to stand on an outstretched finger. It stood defiantly, its tiny arms crossed across it's chest and its chin held high— needless to say Donghyuck found himself giggling again.

It was beautiful, like a fairy, but on its little torso it wore leafy armor clad with thorns, and on its hip a minuscule sword bumped against its leg.

Now this? _This_ he could handle.

"Hi" Donghyuck whispered, reaching out with his other finger towards the little thing. "Do you speak? Can you understand me?"

The thing nodded, little huffs making their way to the ginger's ears. The small friend glared at Donghyuck suspiciously, reaching a small hand out to shake one of the large fingers in front of him as a greeting.

Donghyuck giggled again, suddenly not so wary about the suffocating amount of magic in Mark's home. "Whats your name?"

The little fairy flew up to the counter, Donghyuck following with his eyes as he stood up, and braced itself against the faucet as he pried off the cap of a tube of toothpaste. He dipped his hand into the blue paste, fluttering a bit away from the faucet to write on the countertop.

"C L A N C Y" The letters were messily scrawled across the surface of the marble counter, the little creature puffing its chest out proudly. A sort of _'thats me, I own that name.'_

Donghyuck beamed. "Its nice to meet you! Im Donghyuck. Ive come in here to...get ready, I assume." He said happily, realizing too late that the last sentence sounded dumb.

Even so, Clancy fluttered over to a plant pot shaped like a small house, pointing in the direction of the bathtub before disappearing into the roots and soil. The ginger turned, spotting a lump of fabric that he assumed were clothes and belatedly realizing, not without embarrassment, that he looked disgusting.

His waterline was pink, the whites of his eyes still a bit bloodshot from the blood and tears the other day, his purple t-shirt was wrinkled and stained with dirt and so, so much dried blood, not to mention the tears he knew were in the fabric. His face was grimy, his pores filled with debris and blood, his bottom lip was cracked and he had swollen eyelids. He frowned, scrunching his nose as he stripped his clothes off.

—————

In Donghyuck's opinion, a shower has never felt better. He slipped the clothes that were provided to him, thinking they were strangely normal to come from someone like Mark, up until he saw the tags attached to the oversized t-shirt. It was yellow, the shirt fitting him quite loosely, and it had a bunch of embroidered smileys on it, causing the ginger to smile a little in return. He wiggled into the white skinny jeans and rubbed toothpaste on his teeth with a finger, scratching his gums with his now-clean nails.

Finished, Donghyuck strode back out of the small room, the letter with the golden wings finding its way back into Donghyucks field of vision. He felt the lightest of pressures on his shoulder, a short glance telling him that it was Clancy.

Once he reached the living room, the letter finally flopped open and hovered close enough to be read.

" _Lesson two:_

_Species and Genders; a guide for dummies._

_Today, you will be learning about species and genders of the supernatural, do's and don't's regarding political issues and curtesy, and how dangerous they can be to humans like yourself. Ill only be going over a few today, and Lizzie will provide you with my notes and letters. If you need anything, ask lizzie, she knows basic communication and if she cant answer she'll write me._

_Sincerely,_

_Mark"_

Donghyuck hummed, looking towards the couch cushions with apprehension written across his features. The letter was gone in a burst of golden fireworks, Clancy launching away from the ginger's shoulder with a shriek as one of the bursts came a little too close.

"Lizzie...?" Donghyuck called, his uncertainty apparent in his stutter. "Im ready for the- the lesson."

As the words left his mouth, nothing happened, but a couple seconds later the couch cushions lumped in the center, the surface rippling like a current as something moved beneath them. A green tendril peeked out from under the cushions, seeming to wave itself shyly. It slithered to the edge of the couch, moving over the armrest and straight into a large sack slumped against the side. Lizzie pulled out a cassette player, with headphones, and slid it over to Donghyuck, who jerkily reached out for it.

"Thanks." He murmured, hearing an appreciative chortle from the plant before pressing the headphones onto his ears.

Clancy motioned Donghyuck back towards Mark's room, so they walked. As they did, the ginger pressed play on the player. He thought it would've been an audio book, but was instead met with Mark's voice.

_"Ahem...Hello, this is lesson two of the supernatural world. Getting straight into it, ill be going over three species today. These three are the ones that you'll encounter the most now that Jeno is...well, now that you're both involved. The first, Vampires._

_"I suggest asking for a snack or a drink, because this lesson will be quite lengthy."_

Donghyuck did just that, pressing pause to smile at Clancy and bat his eyelashes as the fairy glared at him and complied with a high pitched sigh. It soon returned with weird purple cookies, and a drink that smelled like coconut, but looked like lemonade. He pressed play once more, sighing contently as he stuffed a cookie in his mouth.

_"Ok, so Vampires. I understand that your first encounter with a vampire was...more or less horrifying, but, they aren't all like that."_

Donghyuck scoffed.

_"Imagine going without food for five days, your mind tearing itself apart with hunger just like the rest of your body. Thats what it feels like for a fledgling 24/7. Since the vampire anatomy and survival is based around the being's intake of blood, they are constantly hungry, and in need of that blood that their brain and stomach uses up really quickly. Most vampires that I've met dont even like the idea of drinking human blood, and hire witches and magic users to make a replacement. In fact, I've spoken to the very vampire that you met in the alley, and he expressed the same sentiment. You'll be happy to know he is in vampire rehab right about now."_

Mark was smiling when he said it, the ginger could tell from his voice, making Donghyuck scrunch his nose with distaste.

_"Anyway, they have a very strict coven system. Usually there is a leader, who is usually the oldest but the spot can also be voted upon, or fought for. There are two in this city, but they aren't REALLY covens, they're just small groups of Vampires. Each coven has set boundaries where their territories are, and how many people they're allowed to hunt, if the leaders even allow it. This is especially true if there are multiple covens near each other. They also have very strict rules on turning humans, which is probably why that fledgling was out and about in the first place. He was probably an illegal turn, and whoever did it ditched him before he was completely turned so he wouldn't get his ass beat by his coven leader. What happened to Jeno was exactly why there are such strict rules on turning, its dangerous to have fledglings without any guidance._

_"So, since there ARE vampires in this city, and since you and your friend are now involved with them, you will have to know how to treat them politely._

_"First of all, you can tell how old a vampire is by the condition of their bite mark. You can find such mark on the skin over a major blood vessel thatseasily accessible, unless the vampire has a kink.Ive seen that once during training. It's not pretty. Fledglings are bitten, and yes, the bite marks can be seen and heal eventually, but the bites that turn the fledgling have a sort of poison in them that makes the skin around the bite very sensitive and veiny..."_

Donghyuck didn't appreciate the image of a very veiny and pale vampire sucking on Jeno's neck with fervor flashing across his eyelids as he shuddered.

_"...Its really ugly, to be completely honest with you, and touching it or pointing it out to a vampire will result in a grumpy blood sucker. As years pass, the bite marks get a lot less gross, and look kinda like moles._

_"You’ve seen a hungry vamp before, but I'm still going to list off how you can tell if they're in need of a snack for your survival. The first sign is usually their eyes, but then again every vampire is a person, and every person is different, so sometimes is can be things like their bite mark, or their temper. When a vampire is hungry, their eyes can go from said vampire's normal eye color, to a very dark maroon. Of course, once they get a taste, their eyes turn bright red, and the color can sometimes fill the entire pupil. Another thing to look out for is their bite mark. A vampire's bite mark can be anywhere on their body, but you can usually find them without much trouble. If you're vampire is hungry, the bite mark will sprout veins. Not pretty. Trust me, you'll notice it._

_"Anyway, theres a third, more obvious tell: their temper. If you're around a vampire and you haven't done something stupid enough to piss them off, there shouldn't be any friction, right? Well if you've done nothing wrong and they're grouchy, you have yourself a hungry leech._

_"Thats the basics of vampires, and all you need to know about them until I get back and you can ask me questions._

_"The next species, Werewolves."_

Donghyuck groaned, Mark's words never ending. He paused the device, leaving it on the witch's bed next to Clancy, who was snacking on the food he had brought earlier. He padded back to the living room, finding himself in front of the couch once more, where Lizzie was using one tentacle to hold down a sheet of paper, and another to scribble words on the surface of it.

"Lizzie?"

The plant didn't pause it's writing, but a third tendril slowly came out from between the cushions to greet him.

"Do I have to listen to the whole message today? It's like three hours long." Donghyuck complained, watching as the tendril disappeared back into the depths of the couch with an amused shake, only to re-emerge with a small, cracked wooden block with letters scrawled on it with the handwriting Donghyuck saw in Mark's grimoire.

The face of the block showed a "Y".

Donghyuck frowned, opening his mouth to refuse, but the tendril disappeared once more, showing the boy a folded piece of lined paper once it was back.

It simply read:

_"Donghyuck, I knew you would complain because you're a human and humans are lazy, so I gave Lizzie this letter. Just listen to the tape, and get it done with. If you have any additional questions, I'll answer them when I get home. Dont be a baby._

_Sincerely, Mark."_

Donghyuck grumbled, handing the letter back to Lizzie. She clicked repeatedly, seeming kind of annoyed, and started a new paragraph on whatever she was writing. Spinning on his heel, he strode back into Mark's room to continue the lesson.

Clancy was now asleep, all of the cookies and only a millimeter of the coconut drink gone. Sighing, the boy settled himself under the covers and pressed play.

_"Werewolves have genders too, just to get that out of the way, but their genders work a bit differently than human's do. Yes, there are boy Werewolves and girl Werewolves, but each boy and each girl has an equal chance to be one of the werewolf genders; Alpha, omega, and beta."_

The corner of the redhead's mouth quirked, amused at how boyish Mark really sounded. The boy was no doubt by himself when he was recording this, and Donghyuck could see his normal facade fading to fit his age. Now that he thought about it, Mark seemed right around his own age, if not a little older, but he hadn't noticed until now due to the witch's old soul personality. The glittery male always acted like he is the wisest man to ever live, his superiority complex making him seem like a good looking fifty year old. 

_"You're probably thinking, what the hell does this have to do with me, and the answer is quite a bit. Werewolves are pretty mellow, but are territorial over their mates. Its no joke. Im not gonna... not gonna explain how mating works, so dont ask me, but basically dont mess with a wolf's mate._

_"They, as you can guess, are also social creatures, but none of them live in a pack usually. They find the Werewolves in their town and keep in contact, but that's mostly out of safety and feeling comfortable around certain...ugh. Certain smells. Thats all I'll say about that._

_"Werewolves wont eat you, but they are stronger than humans and you pretty much have no way of hiding from one if you ever need to, so dont, for gods sake, piss one off unless you have leverage. Even still, just dont._

_"On a happier note, Werewolves tend to think of humans as cute little pets._

_"Lastly, Magic users._

_"I myself, am a magic user, and the type of magic I preform is mostly in the "Witch" category, therefore I am a witch. However, there are multiple other kinds of magic. For one, Wizards. Wizards are NOT the male version of witches, because obviously I am of the Male gender and I am a witch."_

Mark sounded indignant, a hidden warning laced with his words for Donghyuck to avoid this topic, unless he wanted to end up hurt.

_"Wizards learn and research magic themselves, and are usually very weak with their power. For example, a wizard could spend years and years studying the art of divination, and will only be able to tell your future. That sounds great, but in reality its like those guys who read your palms and then say vague things for fifty bucks. Witches are born with magic power, and use a lot of their power for healing and growth depending on what type of witch they are. Of course, most healing is done through herbs and crystals, but I've also taken many years of my life and learned magic different types of magic as well. Of course, since my magical power isn't learned, but its a birth right, the spells and things I learn are more powerful, and work pretty well. Warlocks are different than both wizards and witches. Warlocks are like...they're like the prostitutes of the supernatural world."_

Donghyuck couldn't help but let out an amused snort, pleasantly surprised with the humanity shining through Mark's words.

_"Warlocks are the magic users that will do anything for power. Most of the time, they get their power from demons that they summon, and the demons will give them a task or ask them to do stuff for them in exchange for the power given. Pretty simple stuff, but really dangerous, and messy, especially if you don't do extremely thorough research on what demon you're going to summon, and heavily evaluate what you're willing to give up. Mark's hot take? Just dont do it._

_"Last are sorcerers. Sorcerers are also born with their power, but unlike witches it isn't from a long blood line. Sorcerers are born from a demon and a human, and usually are born with a specific skill in a certain area or magic use. Now, in media, I know sorcerers are usually evil, but thats not normally the case in real life._

_Upon first glance, the only one of these four that you can tell apart would be sorcerers, because they have a sort of birth mark. Since they're born from demons, they are inevitably born with a physical trait that is of a demon— a sort of birthmark. Abnormal skin color, horns, cat eyes, wings, shark teeth, and extra arms and legs can all be birth marks of a sorcerer, but there are no such signs for a witch, wizard, or warlock. Unless they REALLYfuck up a spell or ritual."_

Mark took a deep breath and let out an exasperated sigh.

_"Well, there you have it. There's all-"_

The witch pauses, presumably looking at the audio's length.

_"-all fifty five minutes of your lesson."_

And with that, the tape stopped with a definitive click.


	6. Blood Sucker

The next day was...quiet.

Clancy was nowhere to be found, and Donghyuck had even checked his little flower pot house in the bathroom to no avail.

Even the living room was silent, no letters fluttering or exploding, and Lizzie wouldnt come out from beneath the couch cushions, even when Donghyuck started to feel uneasy and claimed he wanted to write to Mark.

He had been lying, but now he isn't so sure.

Shaking the idea from his head, he went back to searching the house. Mark was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. Sure, he had saved the younger, and even offered to teach him about the supernatural world, but there are a bunch of things about the guy that weren't adding up. The faster Donghyuck could find Jeno and leave, the better. And that meant as little contact with Mark as possible, just in case he started to actually get used to the witch's presence.

Something was brewing in his gut, some sort of deep apprehensive slush that churned and churned until it felt thick and bubbly. The sky felt it too, it seems, because as midday approached, the clouds hid the sun— hid it from what? Donghyuck couldn't tell.

Since none of his new acquaintances were around, Donghyuck sat on the floor in front of the couch, his eyes closed as he tried his best to meditate like Mark was that night. He failed, his attention was latched onto his thoughts, and he suddenly smelled blood, rain, dirt, and trash all over again, and it filled his head with a sort of buzzing that made him want to do something irrational— like using his very own skull to open a window— to make it stop. He heard it too, the thunder from that night, the panting from his mouth, the rain splattering against the pavement. And when he could finally willed himself to open his eyes, he realized it was happening all over again.

The front door was open, that much he could tell without moving as the flashes of lighting offered explosions of light to illuminate the entryway in front of the open door. He also realized that the longer he looked towards the open doorway, the more things around him seemed to be scared. The flowers had curled into themselves, the plants shying away from something Donghyuck couldnt quite bring himself to see yet. Behind him, he even heard a whimper from Lizzie. He could hear the rain, hear the thunder, hear the rapid breathing from that night happening all over again as he looked up and locked his eyes with the very same vampire from before.

That goopy slush in his stomach from before was suddenly familiar, and Donghyuck felt really stupid in that moment for not recognizing it, but it was that unfamiliar, familiar feeling of a scream that is only coaxed out of someone through the absolute fear of losing their life. And so, when that slush surged out of Donghyuck, it came out as that same jagged, ear-splitting scream.

He shot up, adrenaline making his brain start that buzzing again, the self destructive buzzing, and he really thought he would make it to Mark's room, but instead he was pressed up against a wall, held by the very same hands that held him that night.

But they were...gentle?

Donghyuck was hyperventilating again, thrashing away from the light grip— another scream blossoming in his chest— only to be yanked back against the wall once more and silenced by a hand over his mouth.

The scream was muffled, but it made his head pound even more as the creature in front of him stared him down, and as if nothing had happened, Donghyuck wasn't scared anymore. As if his best friend hadn't died to this thing, he felt fuzzy and warm and the buzzing in his head was replaced with cotton. Maybe really, really deep down the fear was struggling against this sudden feeling, but Donghyuck was none the wiser.

He was back in front of the couch as soon as his fear faded, the Vampire sitting in front of him, and for some god forsaken reason, Donghyuck opened his mouth and began to _chastise_ it as if it couldn't kill him in an instant.

"Why Jeno?" Donghyuck scolded with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest. "You kissed him and then pretty much killed him. I hope you know you're a piece of shit, I hope Jeno dumps your ass."

The cotton in Donghyuck's head started to dissolve, allowing the smallest realization to register that the vampire looked _guilty_ , and that he really thought the two were dating, even though they obviously weren't.

One of his hands reached up to scratch his head. "I know you won't believe me, but it was an honest mistake." He murmured, sounding mournful.

The cotton cleared a bit more, allowing Donghyuck to feel the repressed fear bubbling in his chest. Assessing the situation, he decided to shove it down further, hearing Mark's voice from the tape remind him not to be judgmental.

"I believe you..." he began, and the vampire's head shot up in surprise. "BUT, that doesn't mean I'm not upset. You fucking traumatized me, you bastard." He growled, the vampire looking down at the floor with another wave of shame. "Shouldn't you be apologizing to Jeno?"

The boy looked up once more, his mouth turned down pitifully. Donghyuck thought he looked like a sad puppy. "Mark wont let me see him." He pouted like a child, and when he spoke again his voice had dropped to a whisper. "I also dont really remember...what he looks like."

Donghyuck tilted his head, taking in the non-hungry look that the vampire sported. His skin was very pale, like Mark, and smooth to where it looked like porcelain. His eyes weren't red, but a calm brown that added to the puppy look, his lips pink and pouty. His voice was higher pitched than Donghyuck remembered, his memories from that night plagued with anxiety and adrenaline, and he seemed really young. Once again prodded by Mark's tape, he felt a pang of pity that the poor kid went through such a horrid experience.

"Mark won't let me see Jeno either." Donghyuck lamented, actively ignoring the last comment as an attempt to shove down the anger at the thought. His eyes met the boy's slowly, letting the smallest of sympathetic smiles he's ever given to a vampire grow on his lips. The first smile to a vampire in general, too. "Did Mark tell you to come here? Do you know where Jeno is?"

The boy nodded. "He told me to apologize and explain myself. He also said that you had questions... he said that I wasn't supposed to answer anything about Jeno." He added, looking uncomfortable when Donghyuck frowned.

"You owe me, bloodsucker. Where is he?" Donghyuck scolded, glaring at the boy.

He flinched. "Ok...you have to promise you wont sneak out." Donghyuck raised a brow, not having thought about how he was supposed to get away from Mark until now. He honestly had thought that the witch would've just let him go, but with the vampire's words, he now wasn't so sure. "I won't..." he said slowly, rolling his plan over and over in his head. "I promise."

The boy eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then broke into a smile. "Ok, good. He's with Denny.”

Donghyuck frowned. "That's not very helpful. I don't know where he is."

"Oh! He works out of a really really big tree house in the woods. That's where I've been since I accidentally-" he broke off, realizing that he was saying too much.

Donghyuck nodded, starting to slowly feel safe with this strange kid, double checking that he wasn't hungry by checking off the list of tells Mark had provided. His shoulders relaxed, letting go of a tension he hadn't realized he was holding. The cotton was all gone, and he realized that it was the vampire's doing that he had suddenly felt so calm. Putting two and two together, he also registered that it was the same thing that happened to Jeno that night, as an explanation for the kiss.

"Any more questions?"

What happened next wasn't a bubble, not like a scream at all, but more of a dam breaking, sudden and loud and a never ending spill of words from Donghyuck's lips.

"What's your name? Do you remember everything about that night? How old are you? Does being turned hurt? Are you really in rehab? what does rehab even mean, how the hell does a vampire learn to control something like that? Does the sun burn you? Can you eat garlic? Do you have super speed? Never mind, i know the answer to that one. Do you like the taste of blood? How long has it been since you were turned? Do your parents know? Can i trust you?"

The ginger sucked in a breath, his brain hardly even processing what nonsense just spilled from his mouth. The vampire seemed to relate.

"Uhm." He cleared his throat, chuckling awkwardly. "My name is Chenle. I remember that night, yes. Im currently eighteen, and I was turned two weeks ago." It seemed that Chenle was beginning to feel comfortable as well, because his tone was becoming increasingly charismatic. "Dont ever let a vampire convince you that they dont like the taste of blood. It tastes like a steak to us. I dont like the idea of sucking blood from a living being, but a lot of older vampires don't mind it I assume." He tilted his head, not noticing the disgusted look on Donghyuck's face as he started tapping his chin with a slender finger. "Rehab?"

Donghyuck kinda wanted to bury himself in a hole. "I didn't mean to say rehab, it's just that Mark said it as a joke and I-"

Chenle laughed, and it made the ginger feel a little better. "Well, he's not wrong. I'm taking a sort of abstinence course from Denny. He lives on this side of town. Its all about learning how to control your hunger and tide yourself over without killing people." He said cheerfully.

Nodding slowly, Donghyuck was satisfied even though the white haired boy hadn't quite answered all of his questions. He also pocketed the question of what _side of town_ he was actually on. He held out a hand, letting a genuine smile grace his features. "My name's Donghyuck. Nice to meet you, Chenle."

The two talked until nightfall, Donghyuck more than Chenle, and they had gone over many topics. Donghyuck found out that garlic does nothing, and vampires can go out in the sun with a simple spell cast on something they wear. He also found out that Vampires can 'compell' humans, which is what Chenle did to Jeno that night. Chenle refused to talk about turning though, especially how it felt, and Donghyuck was perfectly ok with that. He didn't think he ever wanted to find out.

Over the several hours that the two had spent chatting and sitting on the floor, Lizzie had finally come out of hiding, and Clancy had shown up, aggressively staring at the vampire boy from his spot on Donghyuck's shoulder.

Soon after the sun disappeared over the horizon, Chenle had to, in his own words, 'go back to rehab', and so Donghyuck was left alone with his thoughts of Jeno, and a grunting Lizzie frantically writing a letter.


	7. Hello and Goodbye

It seemed that every day in Mark's house brought something completely new and unexpected.

Today was the third day of Mark's absence, yet there the glittering Male was when Donghyuck marched into the kitchen with only boxers and his oversized smiley t-shirt on. Mark was wearing something different today, it was a dress suit, a tie, a jacket, and it was all black, making his slim figure look even slimmer. The flowers were also a weird sort of black today, deeper and heavier than a flower's color should be.

Donghyuck froze, squealing and shoving the hem of the shirt halfway down his thighs. "You're back early." He commented breathlessly.

Mark sighed, not looking at the boy and instead focusing on the pot of something orange and goopy in front of him. "What amazing eyes you have."

Donghyuck rolled his eyes, instantly reminded why he didn't like Mark; he was an asshole. What a fool he was to think he could be happy and at peace. "Well, since you're back, I have a couple complaints. First of all, why the hell didn't you warn me that Chenle was going to visit? What on earth made you think that it would be a good idea for me to see him? Im only Human, I can only take so much trauma, not to mention he couldn't, no, he _wouldn't_ tell me where my best friend is, because of _you_. Second of all..." The ginger let his voice trail off, realizing that Mark wasn't listening. The witch hadn't stopped his antics, stirring and adding things into the mixture while humming a tune that Donghyuck didn't recognize, one that sounded like a sort of sea shanty.

Giving up, the boy spun around and strode back to Mark's room, intending to invade his closet. (He realized there would only be waistcoats in there much later.) When he walked into the room, Mark was somehow already there, dressed in his normal getup of a red and white color, perched on his bed with a book splayed in his lap. Donghyuck froze once more, taking a second to process the scene before jogging back to the kitchen.

_Ive lost it_ , Donghyuck thought with a hysterical scoff, _I've finally lost it. My mind must've cracked under all of the pressure. I probably hit my head and this whole thing is a dream._

The witch was still in his original place, not acknowledging the boy's presence. Donghyuck brought his hands up to massage his temples, actively ignoring the flash of glitter he saw in the living room he passed, going to the bathroom to seek Clancy and the comfort of a warm shower instead. "Clancy, I gotta get out of here, I gotta find Jeno." He pleaded, shutting the door and turning around with eyes searching for moth wings. He was, of course, met with a naked Mark half submerged, thank christ, in milky water instead of a grumpy pixie.

The witch looked up, annoyed. "Do you mind? You're messing up the energy in here."

The ginger let out another surprised squeak, fumbling for the door handle and bolting as fast as his legs will take him. Much to his continued surprise, he collided with a firm body, a body that grunted on contact. "Donghyuck, please for God's sake just sit down somewhere. You're interrupting me." This body was dressed in a black waistcoat ensemble.

"How are you doing that?" Donghyuck murmured, his cheeks pink and his head starting to hurt from seeing too much of Mark. One Mark was already past his limit, he couldn't handle more than that. His hands were still clutching the hem of the shirt, stretching the material to hide his thighs.

The witch scrunched his eyebrows together, confusion creating creases between his eyebrows momentarily until it dawned on him that he isn't normal. Mark's eyes lit up with a revelation. "Oh, right, I forget that you're not used to this stuff. This is how I get things done. They're called essence clones, but whatever they do directly effects me."

Donghyuck didn't realize his mouth was open until Mark placed a finger under his chin and forced it back up, his face displeased. "And...and why are you back?! Why did the lessons stop the day Chenle came? Why didn't you tell me Clancy lived in your bathroom?" He badgered, going quiet as the Mark in front of him helped him up while the Mark who had just walked past with a towel wrapped around his waist whistled the same sea shanty from the _other_ Mark.

Mark frowned. "Its, like, eight in the morning, why are you so bothered?" The boy opened his mouth to spit back an answer but Mark beat him to it. "Nevermind, just calm down. I dont have enough energy to make another clone to babysit you right now."

Donghyuck looked ready to kill.

Mark sighed, rolling his eyes. "Im back because I finished business early. I didn't set up letters for yesterday because I thought I would be getting home even sooner, but I couldn't so I sent Chenle to keep you busy. Also...Clancy? He moved in himself. If you think he's cool, you should see the gnomes in the garden." He said enthusiastically, turning on his heel as if to lead the way there.

Donghyuck held up his hands. "No, thanks. I need to ask one more thing." Mark seemed exasperated, but complied, nodding once to tell him to continue.

"You said you would be getting daily reports on Jeno." Donghyuck said, and from the way Mark started to frown, he knew he didn't have to say anything else. It took a while for Mark to say anything, but when he did, it was nonchalant.

"He's ok." The witch stated with a shrug, walking past Donghyuck briskly.

Now, Donghyuck had been asking a lot of questions lately, but there's one that he hasn't needed to address until now.

_Will he let me go?_

Fighting the anxiety he started to taste at the back of his mouth, he strode after Mark. "Hey, I was also wondering if I could go back to my apartment. Y'know... cause I live there?"

Mark contemplated it, or looked like he was, striding into his bedroom and snapping, the clone on the bed vanishing. "Nah, I think you should wait a bit before going back." He stated, stepping on a stack of books to reach one with jewels in the cover near the ceiling.

Donghyuck let out a semi-relieved sigh. _That wasn't a no...but it sure as hell wasn't a yes._

"How long should I wait?" He asked nervously, his hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He bent down briefly, before Mark could turn around, for the pair of shorts he had thrown on the floor before sleeping yesterday. Slipping them on just as Mark turned around, he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

The witch didn't seem to notice.

"Two weeks should do it." He chirped, hopping down from between the piles of literature and passing right by Donghyuck without so much as a look.

"Two weeks?! I can't stay here that long!" Donghyuck argued, falling into step next to the boy as he caught up. Mark didn't spare him a glance, his fingers snapping his clones away dutifully as he looked straight ahead.

"Why not? Im delightful." He reasoned, finally glancing at the ruffled male next to him.

Donghyuck shook his head passionately. "No. No you are not. The rent is due tomorrow, and-" he cut himself off, sucking in a large breath that was muggy with life, but still tore its way into his still-sore body as he realized something. " _I haven't been to work! Oh my god Mr.Kim is gonna fire me._ " The ginger shrieked, his hands flying to his head to tug on his locks. He spun to face Mark all the way, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Mark, he likes you, you gotta tell him what happened. Or at least go and cover for me... I really need that job. I really _really_ -"

He was cut off once more, this time by the witch. "I took care of it the day you were sent home." Mark waved his hand, brushing the topic off like an annoying fly.

Donghyuck took a deep breath, looking at Mark suspiciously. "But I still need to pay my rent. Which means I need to go to my apartment." He said slowly, trying to get Mark to see his side of things. He felt like he was trying to communicate with a grumpy cat.

"I took care of _that_ too." The male responded, sounding annoyed. "Now go play, or I might leave again." He mumbled, causing Donghyuck to clench his jaw. He could see it now, the usually calm and smug Mark rippling like a projection. Donghyuck could see his words stabbing into the witch's skin, so, he threw even more. He aimed right for Mark's usually unbreakable superiority over humans. The spot in Mark's brain that seemed to always whisper sweet nothings of 'humans could never compare, they will adore you and your greatness'.

"Mark, I dont want to stay here. I dont _like_ being here. I dont _like_ you. Put a protective spell over me or my apartment or something and let me go home." He insisted stiffly, his words carrying more than a simple bite with them as they smoothed over his lips.

Mark stopped abruptly, right outside of the doorway that led to the kitchen, and slowly spun around.

_Bingo_.

"I dont like _you_ either, Donghyuck. You're a child and having to take care of you like an infant pisses me off and I _hate_ it, but you don't see me complaining." He was taking slow, leisurely steps towards Donghyuck as his words dripped from his mouth like honey; soft and sweet. "Neither of us have a choice. I have to do my job and make sure you aren't hunted down, and if that means keeping you in here with me, then so help me Donghyuck that's what I'm gonna fuckin' do." His tone was way too calm, the muscles in his jaw flexing and his green eyes blazing as he stared Donghyuck down, the golden flecks like embers beginning to re-light.

Donghyuck gladly reciprocated ten-fold. " _I'm_ bad?! You haven't been _taking care_ of me, you just took me in because you have this delusional idea that you're in charge of me, _which you aren't_. I'm a human being, _I'm_ the only one in charge of me." He seethed, stepping closer and dropping his voice. " _You_ step into my life, mess up my job, you introduce Jeno to a _vampire_ who sucked him like a juice-box and _still_ ended up nicer than you, you wont tell me about my _best friend_ who could be _dead because of you_ , and on top of all of that, you took me into your home, _left_ me in your home _alone_ , and you _wont let me leave._ " The ginger let out a small sardonic laugh. "You know, I've spent the past few days trying to see things from your point of view, but I can't seem to get my _head_ that far up my _ass_." He spat, jabbing a finger at the male's chest.

Mark's lips curled back, the disdain written in his eyes filling Donghyuck with the urge to hit him. "This is exactly what I was talking about. Cant you just appreciate what I've _done_ for you? You sleep in _my_ bed, you use _my_ shower, I used _my_ time to _teach_ you, _AND_ _save_ you and your friend's pathetic human lives for _THIS_?! You're lucky enough that I follow my orders, or I'd have left you and your friend to walk home to die. _GO! Go to sleep, go cry, go take a shower, go get dressed, go do something, just GO!”_ Mark wasn't yelling, but his voice was beginning to bounce around the walls of the hallway, like the plants above them were projecting his voice for him.

The tension in the thin hallway could be cut with a knife, Donghyuck inches away from Mark, who was looming over the ginger with a look that spoke of chauvinism and condescension. As the witch spoke, the plants hanging above his head twitched to life. Green stems grew down towards Mark's messy black hair, curling over his ears and down to his shoulders. There were leaves and honeysuckles rapidly growing on the stems, sprouting will small puffs of pollen that landed on the side of the witch's face and on his hair and he was _glowing_. He was glowing and Donghyuck wanted to destroy everything about it because it made Mark look unquestionably stunning and magical and Donghyuck hated how "holier than thou" it was.

Letting out a soft, frustrated groan, Donghyuck threw his hands in the air. "Minhyung, you know what? I will go." He strode towards the front door.

"Dont you _fucking_ dare. You're not allowed." Mark growled. "You're not leaving this house." The plants were vibrating now, pollen making a swirl around Mark's body. He really _was_ glowing, a breeze made of leaves and pollen curling around Mark's legs and torso.

Donghyuck snapped his head around to send a fiery glare to the witch. " _Watch me_." And with that, the ginger wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and yanked the door open.

The plants that framed Mark's face prettily were suddenly gone, as well as the plants hanging above him, blown away with a sudden gust of wind. It had come from the witch, whose eyes were radiating a bright emerald and were making the lights hanging from the ceiling look weak compared to the intensity of their glimmer. The flowers and pollen had flung away from the boy, lurching for Donghyuck with alarming speed and only narrowly missing the boy when he jumped out of the way. It had slammed the door shut, making Donghyuck gasp and offer an even hotter gaze to the witch. Mark's hair was tousled even more than before now, covering his eyelids. His eyebrows were scrunched together, almost meeting at the middle, and for just a second Donghyuck could see a flicker of hesitation in the witch's eyes. He saw the witch trying to find an out, a solution to the situation. A strategy to win, to win without killing the other.

"It's not _safe_ -"

But Donghyuck had already opened the door once more, only for it to be slammed shut. With a frustrated scream, the ginger forced the door open, his eyes never leaving Mark as he glowered and took a half step through the doorway. The very moment the words left the witch's mouth, Donghyuck knew Mark had figured out a way to win.

" _YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED_!"

Another powerful gust of pollen flew from Mark, slamming the door shut to collide with the back of Donghyuck's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then...Mark and Donghyuck both flipped their shit i guess


	8. That damned Cactus

Donghyuck snapped his eyes open to a loud, high pitched screech aimed directly at his ear. He shot up, instantly regretting it as stars danced around the edges of his vision. The poor boy frowned, his mind muddled and fuzzy, and he brought his hands up to scrub at his eyes. It only took him one bleary-eyed look around the room for him to remember what the _witch_ did, and where he was, and he opened his mouth in the widest, most pissed off and betrayed gasp he could muster.

"That _BITCH_! _I can't believe he knocked me out!_ " Donghyuck hissed, his head snapping to the side to follow the movement he spotted at the corner of his eye; Turns out it was Clancy, who nodded in fierce agreement. Donghyuck frowned, dropping his voice even further so it didn't float through the walls of the house. "Where have _you_ been."

Clancy chattered in response, which caused Donghyuck to give up in pursuing that conversation due to the language barrier.

He turned his body to face the faerie, humming in thought. "Im getting out of here. Dont tell Minhyung."

Clancy whizzed around the boy's ginger locks, chittering excitedly and clacking his teeth in an attempt to communicate excitement.

Donghyuck smiled softly. "Do you want to come? We can go back to my apartment and grow some plants for you or something if you want?"

The little guy clicked again.

The pixie flittered towards the door, disappearing under it and reappearing just as fast with another passionate nod and a teeny tiny backpack slung around his shoulders, sword on his hip.

"Woah there tiger, not yet." Donghyuck let his small smile grow. "First we go out there and talk to Minhyung."

Donghyuck hopped off of said boy's bed, striding towards the door and swinging it open. He padded down the hallway, ducking around replotted plants and cringing at the strong smell of sod mixed with something foul. He eventually found the witch perched on the living room couch, chatting to a chortling Lizzie.

"So, you over your temper tantrum? I believe I deserve an apology." Donghyuck said cooly, his eyes analyzing Mark's body for a reaction, any reaction at all, smiling when he caught the twitch of the witch's jaw.

"Im sorry, Donghyuck, for putting a brat in their rightful place." He said kindly, not looking at the redhead. Donghyuck knew what he was doing, because he himself was trying to do the same before he had tried to leave. It was a battle of wills and wits, seeing who would crack first, and Donghyuck was calmer than the night sky, knowing he would be out of this hellhole soon enough. So, Donghyuck decided not to participate this time, letting Mark win the battle with the knowledge that he would win the war.

"You have poor methods." The boy said calmly, pacing over and slowly perching himself on the armrest beside the black haired pest. "But," he began with a sigh, and a hidden smile. Mark looked up at this. "I wanted to say sorry. For not being thankful that you saved my life. I didn't mean to be a burden." Donghyuck lamented, biting his cheek to hold back a grin when Mark's bored expression contorts into the most _disarmed_ look that Donghyuck had ever seen on the boy.

It was quickly masked.

"I appreciate the apology, and I'm glad you've come to your senses." He replied, extra puffs of pride behind his words as Donghyuck fed his ego. Donghyuck bit back a scoff. Instead, he spoke. "How long was I out." It came out gently, but it wasn't a question as much as it was a blind stab for Marks sympathy.

"Only the rest of the day. You probably only would've been out for an hour or two, but I gave you something to heal your head that usually makes people tired." Mark said just as gently, although not sounding the least bit apologetic, and Donghyuck had to grit his teeth to stop himself from snapping at him. The complacency of the witch's tone nipped at the boy's neck.

"You should sleep," The ginger suggested, continuing before Mark could refuse. "Y'know, 'cause it's been a whole four days or so since you've slept in your own bed."

Mark was silent, but Donghyuck could see the gears turning in his head as the witch sent a weary glance to the front door. "You can sleep there for one more night, but you have to sleep on the couch tomorrow." The witch finally said with a smile, patting Donghyuck's knee. The boy nodded, standing up to put much needed distance between him and his captor, as well as to hide the revolting feeling that crawled up his thigh with the touch.

"Ok, well, my head is killing me. I guess I'll go lay down." Donghyuck said smoothly, an easy smile forming on his lips. Mark nodded. "Goodnight, Donghyuck. Sweet dreams." He murmured, only _now_ sounding guilty.

Donghyuck stood across from the witch a moment longer than he probably should have, battling with himself over his need to escape and the problem his soul had with betraying Mark's trust. He shut the thoughts down. _There's no trust in this house_ , he thought, _This will always be a battlefield._

Donghyuck nodded curtly, a new wave of determination, and animosity, unfurling in his gut as he heard Mark barely contain an annoyed sigh from halfway down the hallway. He grit his teeth, spinning around and adding the salt to the wound Mark would find in the morning. Well, lack there of.

"Hey, Mark?" Donghyuck asked, poking his head around the corner and peeking in between the leaves of an especially bushy plant.

The witch hummed, his Jade eyes raising to meet Donghyuck's brown ones.

"We should try to get along better from now on. Let's be friends." Donghyuck chirped, plastering his best customer service grin on his face.

If Mark was surprised, he didn't show it. "Oh, sure. Yeah, let's be friends." He replied, his tone even and bland. With another curt nod, Donghyuck ducked back into the hall and sped towards Mark's bedroom, shutting the door softly behind him and letting his smile turn sour.

Clancy waved a little hand at him, getting up from his seat on the pillow that Donghyuck's head had been on. Before anything else, Donghyuck went to look through the wardrobe in the room, digging through suits and waistcoats until he unexpectedly pulled out a _sweatshirt_. It was the most normal thing he had ever seen in this damned house, and seeing it made his insides twist with excitement. It was dull, huge, and gray, the word "CANADA" embroidered across the chest with purple thread. It was so not-Mark that Donghyuck couldn't help but grin and slip it on. He discarded the three day old smiley shirt, throwing it over his shoulder to land somewhere on the floor, and turned to bring his attention to the small window near the ceiling.

It was dark out, the moon full and the stars checkering the intense night sky. The top of the window frame met with the ceiling, the window's width almost, if not a bit bigger, the size of Donghyuck's forearm, and the length was roughly a foot and a half long. The bottom of the window frame was about two feet above the top of Donghyuck's head. He could wrap his fingers over the windowsill if he jumped, but overall concluded that he didn't have enough upper body strength to haul himself up to the window by himself. So, he turned to Clancy.

"I need you to open the window." He whispered, pointing to it with a finger.

The pixie complied, the buzzing of his wings subsiding when he disappeared over the sill. Donghyuck then proceeded to reach for the closest book he could find, making a three-step makeshift staircase to help with getting up to the window. While grabbing books, he read some of the titles; _A Witch's Guide to finding love, Hedge Witches and their companions, A long Guide To Palm Reading, Coexistence with Plants_.

Once his staircase of literature was complete, he took careful steps up it, stopping at the third step to stand on his tiptoes. He peered out of the glass, his eyes barely above the windowsill, and he motioned for Clancy to open it. Donghyuck's hands came next to his cheeks, gripping the windowsill until his fingertips were white with pressure.

The window swung open inwardly, Donghyuck having to duck to avoid it colliding with his face. The pixie above him chirped, a signal that hopefully meant it was safe to raise himself back up to the window.

Now came the hard part.

Donghyuck stood on his tiptoes once more, reaching his arms all the way through the window to grasp the windowsill on the outside of the house. He jumped slightly, heaving himself halfway only to slip back down. So, he jumped with more power, effectively kicking the top book hard enough to skid across the room with a loud clatter. Donghyuck could at least heave his chest into the opening, his knees banging against the wall as he struggled to push himself all the way through the window. The width was ever so slightly too small for Donghyuck, his butt getting caught against the top of the window. His hands scrabbled against the outside of the house, trying to push against it to force his body through the space.

The boy yelped, hearing a high pitched whistle from inside the room. He felt the smallest of pricks on his calf. So, he attempted at another vain push against the house, his body firm against the window frame.

Another pinch.

He went limp momentarily, sliding a hand beside him back through the window, to reach down and pluck the thing from his leg.

It was a thin, almost clear sort of needle, chipped at one end and dotted with the tiniest of red marks at the sharp tip from where it was previously stuck in Donghyuck's calf.

He felt another, then another and slowly started to gather the memory in his brain of the cactus that sat on Mark's bedside table.

_Shit_.

Donghyuck sucked in a breath, panic surging straight to his vision as he finally realized Mark was being _alerted_ by a _cactus_ , of all things, and no matter how annoying Mark seemed, he was a _witch_ — a witch who has a bad temper— a witch that has a knack for hurting Donghyuck as long as it wont kill him.

He felt three more small pricks, and with a frantic push that left Donghyuck's arms shaky, he squeezed the rest of the way through the window: Tumbling down face-first and landing in the dirt with a dull thud and a sharp exhale.

He pushed himself upwards with his arms, scrambling to get on his feet. Clancy was flying ahead of him, a dim, red glow emitting from his wings as he fluttered towards the trees surrounding the area. Donghyuck followed soon after. His feet were bare, the rain from yesterday making the dirt squish underneath his weight and plaster all over Mark's hoodie. Only when Donghyuck reached the woods did he look behind him, but it was so brief that he missed the pair of green eyes staring right back at him from the open window. Well, _and_ the fact that when he turned, the house was _gone_.

Donghyuck's eyes widened, his head snapping back to Clancy with the type of determination of someone who had seen too much too soon, and he was officially at his limit.

The house that had dissolved seconds ago burned into the back of his eyelids where it was supposed to be, only to be gone again when his eyes fluttered back open. Before he could get anywhere close to understanding what just happened, his brain seemed to shut down, his body kickstarting into motion before he could even tell it where to go.

He lost track of time, things and places whizzing by in a blur of dull colors, and when he finally snapped out of his confused daze, he was somewhere in the city, somewhere he didn't quite recognize.

For one desperate moment, Donghyuck wished someone would tell him it was all a joke, or maybe a dream, because he would probably believe them, but all of that hope was destroyed when a bloody Jeno flashed across his field of vision, when the fluttering of wings next sounded next to his ear, when he caught a glimpse of the stolen hoodie in his peripherals.

Only now, when he took a breath and a look around, did he realize what Chenle meant about "this side of town."


	9. New blood

Jeno was used to sunny mornings, waking up to the smell of coffee brewing from his and Donghyuck's shared apartment kitchen, and the faint sound of whatever song his roommate was singing that morning carrying its way through his closed bedroom door. He was used to groaning as he stretched his arms over his head, ruffling his blonde hair and trudging to the kitchen to fix himself a huge bowl of cereal and to scold his friend for making too much noise with his chattering.

What he wasn't used to, and later he would reflect that no one was used to such thing, was waking up in complete darkness, eyes and nose and mouth filled with dirt and rot and filth that made the strong urge to breathe cloud his brain with panic and crumpled his lungs with strain. He also very vaguely felt something moving all throughout his body, his stomach, his lungs, but the feeling was very quickly ignored as the rest of his body seemed to wake up all at once, as if he was shocked with a million volts of electricity. Jeno flailed every limb he could control, spreading his arms and legs outward rapidly as he tried to shift the sod and dirt out of his way. His bones felt like he hadn't moved them in years, popping and snapping as he struggled in the dark. He tried to scream, hoping someone would hear him, hoping someone, anyone, could help him, but the amount of dirt that was already in his mouth tripled, falling down his throat even further in his panic.

Everything went white, Jeno's brain filled with static as his body went into overdrive, his arms lunging above him, tearing through the earth and breaking the surface. His fingers stumbled and scraped themselves against rocks and roots as he scrabbled against his filthy cage, the fresh air hitting his face as he immediately doubled over and threw up the contents of his stomach.

His eyes watered, tasting stomach acid and dirt, and he collapsed right next to his vomit, eyes falling shut. Behind his eyelids flashed red eyes and white skin, blood all over his neck and torso, a lonely dim light illuminating a cobblestone alley, Donghyuck's screams echoing in his ears.

Jeno snapped his eyelids open, pushing himself up abruptly to blow chunks once more. His untimely grave was in a small clearing surrounded by trees, the leaves blocking the half moon from his field of view. He looked down at the upchuck, dry heaving when he realized he was right about feeling movement, as there were maggots and worms and a plethora of other insects in his disgusting brown-black throw up. He threw himself away from it, landing in a small puddle that honestly felt amazing. He laid back again, his eyes cast up to the night sky. Another flash of white and red, he felt a pain strike his throat and chest, he saw Donghyuck's face twisted with terror, he saw open veins and a sparkling dark haired man dragging him away. He frowned, shifting when the memories made his skin crawl. The feeling didn't cease, forcing his eyes to dart and find the source of the feeling. Maggots. Maggots in open wounds on the underside of his wrists and the soft tissue of the back of his thigh and suddenly the situation he was in didn't matter as much as getting _it out. He wanted them out._

He sucked in a breath that hurt more than he expected it to, dirt that was caked on the walls of his throat crumbling into his lungs, and his entire body twitched. His hands went for his legs first, digging deep into the infestation and scooping and scraping and shuddering. He was crying, but he didn't notice it, his nails scraping bone and his mouth open and filled with panicked screams that overflowed and fell out. He went for the wrists next, the veins breaking easier than he expected as he shrieked not in pain, but in panic. He shoved his fingers under skin to reach any stragglers and when he was finished he scrambled even further away from his grave, panting, sobbing.

His back hit a tree and his body went limp.

Another flash of sparkles and white and red.

After what seemed like hours, he pulled himself together, taking time to actually look around. He stood up, limping around his bloody pile of maggots to peer into the disrupted soil he had emerged from. It was maybe four feet deep, meaning he tore through two feet of dirt to free himself. An awfully shallow grave for a dead person. There was also no headstone, and he's in the middle of the woods instead of a graveyard. He shook his head, his brain filled with cotton. He couldn't think. The only thought that stuck was the fact that he didn't live near the woods.

He whimpered, hands flying to cradle his head as a sharp pain erupted through it. This was too much, it was all too much, getting worse by the second as his body rapidly bled out from his wounds, and so he ran. He ran as fast as he could into the woods because he didnt want to think anymore, he just wanted to get away.

And somehow, not even knowing where he was when he dug himself out of his grave, he ended up back in the same alleyway between the same office building and pizza place. The streets were empty, and as Jeno slumped against the brick wall behind him, looking up at that dimly lit lonely light, all of the memories from that night came crashing down from whatever hiding place they were huddled in. The edges of his vision dimmed, the soon to rise sun stained sky a pretty background for the horrific images that glazed over Jeno's eyes.

_That's impossible_. He couldn't quite wrap his cotton brain around it, around what happened, around why he had been buried only moments ago, around how fast he had gotten here.

_Maybe they thought I was dead, maybe they buried me because Donghyuck thought I was dead._

Jeno shook his head, thoughts of a different color battling with his logic.

_You ran from the middle of the woods, to the middle of the city in five seconds, That guy kissed you, knew your name, sucked your blood and had eyes like the devil. You're dead, and he's the one who killed you._

Jeno's fingers threaded themselves into his hair, his breath a little shaky. Dried and fresh blood mixed together, the infested open wounds still draining his body and the old blood from that night filling his nostrils with rust and making his clothing brown, his hair stiff and sticky.

"It's a lot to process, I know..." Someone said gently from the entrance of the alley, trailing off into silence, causing Jeno to snap his head up toward the source.

It was a man, dressed casually, a grey and black striped shirt underneath a light blue denim jacket, a black ball cap with honey brown hair spilling from underneath. He had a black backpack on, but he looked a little too put together to be a college student, so Jeno's eyes narrowed. His face was cold, made of sharp lines and points, all jawline and cheekbone, and it made Jeno's hackles raise. His eyes though, sent a different message. They were almost black, but were somehow soft, and the eyebrows above them, as sharp as they may be, were curved upward in worry. His lips were thin, and a little pouty, but when Jeno met the man's eyes the thin flower petal lips curved into a gentle smile. The sun was peeking over the horizon now, Jeno could tell by the oranges and pinks fading into a light blue, and the light made the man look like an angel.

The blonde let his body relax, giving the brunette a wary glance as a sign he could approach.

He did, slowly.

"Wait," The male halted across from Jeno, crouching down and placing his backpack on the cobblestones in front of him, digging through it to pull out a silver thermos with a striped straw sticking out of it. "Here. Drink this." He insisted quietly, kneeling over to put it within arms reach of Jeno. He took it, his brain starting to catch up as he took his first sip.

He swallowed the thick liquid, and it tasted like a good piece of meat, humming softly and risking another look at the stranger. As the warmth went down his throat and hit his stomach, he felt his old self start to shake itself awake, akin to liquid confidence. "Im a vampire...aren't I." And when it came out of the blondes mouth it wasn't really a question, but a confirmation. Honestly, the guy didnt even need to respond, unless the way his maggot extraction woulds sewed the skin back together had a different cause.

The brunette smiled ruefully. "Almost. You know about those?" He tilted his head, a small surprised smile curling into his cheeks. "You're not scared?"

Jeno shook his head slowly, taking several more big sips of the drink, He could gather it was blood by now, in the thermos, mostly because he could feel the wounds healing shut, he could feel the drink filling his empty veins. "I've always had a feeling stuff like that was real." He looked up at the guy, an eyebrow raising as he regained his usual air of grit. "So, I'm gonna guess that you're a blood sucker too. How did you know I was here?"

The man in front of him grinned completely, and it was cat like, his canines extending into fangs that sharpened to a needle-like point at the end. "Im Taeyong. I'm one of the oldest Vampires in town." He said with a cheery nod, extending a hand for Jeno to shake.

Jeno couldn't help but smile back, his freshly dead hands reaching out to shake Taeyong's long-dead ones. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jeno." He paused, thinking hard about what Taeyong had said.

"What do you mean, 'almost'?"

Taeyong looked sympathetic as he spoke. "You still have some of the way to go. You aren't done with the transformation."

"Well isn't that good? Can't I just stop now?"

Taeyong didn't answer for a long time. "If you were to stop now, you would die." He said slowly, reaching out for Jeno again as a comforting gesture. Jeno took it, silent as he processed.

The sun around them had made its way well into the sky, a couple of rays escaping the safety of the Pizza parlor and hitting the two vampire's outstretched hands with a sizzle. Jeno smiled, relishing the warmth and taking it as a blessing that he could still feel the sun. A blessing, up until his hands started to flay, all at once. The skin blistered, as if it was dipped in boiling water, and Jeno screamed. He flung himself against the wall, his normal self falling into shock as he scrabbled against the brick im a desperate attempt to escape the sun. Taeyong, however, still had his hand in the sun, untouched and unburnt.

"Wha- how'd you...how..." Jeno spluttered, scraping at his eyes to hide the tears.

Taeyong offered a sympathetic smile, tucking some longer hair behind his ear to show off earrings with something sketched into them. "They're hexed." He said, wiggling his fingers for effect. He let out a giggle. "A friend of mine enchanted them for me, so I can go out in the sun." He explained, turning his pale hand over in the ever increasing sun beams. Jeno stared at him warily, his eyebrows creasing. "So how am I supposed to go home? Am I supposed to wait here until the sun goes down?"

Taeyong tapped his chin, shrugging with an impish smile. "You could do that, but there's a quicker way."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

The brunette in front of Jeno lunged for his backpack, pulling out a safety pin with a little symbol scratched into the head of it, and the vampire was already too close when it dawned on Jeno what the 'quicker way' was.

—————

Jeno's face was pulled into a scowl as he followed his new companion down the sidewalk, silently relieved that it was still a little too early for people to be out and about. He probably looked as dead as he felt. His fresh piercing didnt hurt as much as he thought it would, but Donghyuck would no doubt be upset that he had gotten one without him.

  
_Donghyuck_.

"Shit. We gotta find my friend." Jeno stopped in his tracks, watching the set of Taeyong's shoulder for a reaction. The male didnt stop, but he did respond.

"I know where he is, but we cant get there right now."

"Well why not?" Jeno frowned, jogging to catch up and look at Taeyong.

"We have to get you somewhere safe first, and you're fresh blood, which isn't something good right now." He replied gently, looping his arm around Jeno's waist as he spotted some people walking towards them.

Jeno jumped. "What are you doing?"

"Holding onto you so you dont get lost."

And with that, the streets around them blurred together and when his head stopped spinning, Jeno was in the middle of a very large room.


	10. Safe

It was like walking through a medieval times fair.

Every building was smushed together on either side of a cobblestone road, all made out of wood and built in a nordic style. There were signs above Donghyuck's head, ones carved with blocky letters of a different language. It looked familiar, and Donghyuck vaguely remembered seeing it in Mark's book, the one with the orange gem on the cover.

_Fuck. This place has magic. It speaks magic. The people here are like Mark._

Lamps flickered behind windows as Donghyuck passed, shadows of people dancing and singing thrown onto the sidewalk.

Donghyuck was shaking, his feet cold against the smooth stones, and couldn't help but look around himself as he padded down the street. The reality of his situation was pushing down on him with a pressure that made it hard to breathe, paranoia was creeping down his neck. So much so, that before he knew it, he was pressing himself into a small crook between two structures. Not quite an alleyway, but just big enough for him to squeeze into.

_Lets face the facts,_ he thought. _I pissed off a bipolar, arrogant, witch. I have no idea where I am. I have no idea how to get to Jeno. Im alone. I look like I killed someone. Mark could very well know where I am, and could be coming for me right now. He probably has friends here. They're probably looking for me, too._

Donghyuck was no idiot, he knew he was in danger from now on. From what he saw of Mark, he knew he could kill him. He also knew the witch could find him within the hour. Or within the minute. So, he wiggled his way out of his hiding place, setting a fast pace for himself to put distance between him and that wretched house.

The boy sniffled, glancing once more behind him as he heard the faint pitter patter of steps. Clancy chirped at his shoulder, but Donghyuck didn't turn to look at him. The world around him was calm, no wind, no rain, no clouds. Only the moon above him, and the merry sounds of laughter carrying itself out into the night's air.

He glanced again, and this time, much like when Chenle suddenly appeared from the alley, there was someone standing about twenty feet away, leaning against a particularly lively building. Donghyuck flinched, whirling back around and picking up his pace. He was almost at a jog, and his breathing was becoming increasingly unsteady. Quincy chirped again, sounding just as panicked.

_Already?! He's already found me?!_

Tears were pooling in his eyes, not falling yet, and he didn't bother to wipe them. He might as well cry, he's done enough crying in the past five days that he might as well keep going, at least until he's completely caught.

Donghyuck glanced around again. The man was walking behind him leisurely, his hands in his pockets. He was dressed comfortably, a graphic black t-shirt with a white skull, paired with sweatpants. The ginger snapped his head back to stare at the sidewalk, sweat trickling down his back. The summer heat was relentless, even at night. Small, heavy huffs of air were being pushed out of his mouth, one catching in his throat as he heard the man behind him speak.

"Mark?"

Donghyuck felt a nervous laugh bubble up in his chest.

_He's calling out to mark. He's got me._

The boy was about to start running, but a firm hand on his shoulder had him reeling backwards. He felt something hard, and warm, hit his back and seep through Mark's sweatshirt to his skin.

Donghyuck sucked in a breath, the tears in his eyes finally overflowing as he spun around and glared at whoever his snitch was. If he was being taken, he was being taken with a fight.

He was tall, at least a foot taller than himself, and he kinda smelled like a cinnamon bun. He had thick, dark eyebrows, and curly bangs that fell just below them, touching his eyelids. The rest of his hair was curly, too, and was a dark brown. An expression of recognition, and embarrassment, rippled through his round face, and he scrunched his button nose as if he was _smelling_ Donghyuck. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Im so sorry, I thought you were someone else." His voice was deep, smooth, and clear, no wavers or hesitance in his words. Only an apology.

And despite the great news that this was, despite his want to fight, Donghyuck's tears only flowed more freely. He was already in close quarters with this man, this man who felt warm and safe and whose done nothing wrong, but he took the tiniest of steps closer and started to pound on his chest. All of his fear, all of his frustration, all of what's happened to him coming out in each contact his fists made. That little sapling of fear Mark accidentally gave him had grown and grown and Donghyuck was beginning to die of suffocation, but it was gone. It withered away as he let it all out.

Neither of them spoke, Donghyuck only silently cried, and the man gathered him in his arms when he was done. After a while, Donghyuck tensed and pushed away with enough force to have the guy stumbling a little.

"You know him too, then." The male said, and Donghyuck couldn't tell what emotion the words held.

The ginger looked up at him, meeting his eyes. They were a light blue. "Who are you? Why did you think I was Mark? I look nothing like him. I look..." Donghyuck didnt have to finish his sentence, the slight discomfort on the mans face enough confirmation.

_I look disgusting._

Clancy made a loud clacking noise.

"My name's Johnny." He said warmly, sizing Donghyuck up. He didn't give Clancy any mind. "You smell like him. Like Mark."

Donghyuck frowned. Now that Johnny said it, he could smell it too. It was earthy, but sweet. He smelled like the honeysuckles that grew around Mark when he got upset.

Johnny noticed. "Wait, It's not- it's not you, exactly." His voice was still soothing, still smooth, even when he stuttered. "It's the sweatshirt."

"Oh." Donghyuck murmured, only loud enough to barely reach Johnny's pierced ears, so he thought.

He glanced down at it and grabbed it by the hem, having a sudden urge to take it off, wanting to get rid of his connection to Mark, but kept it on because he had nothing on underneath. There was also a thought that fought the urge, one that was nervous and relentless. He didn't want to lose it. Something clicked in his brain at this, and he snapped his head back up to look at the man. He had more cheekbones than he first realized, making his cheeks look more hollow, giving his face a more sturdy look.

"What is Mark to you?" He demanded, not feeling fear anymore, just electricity. He felt threatened, even though Johnny has been nothing but gentle. Mark is capable of setting traps.

_A built, gentle guy suddenly appears and comforts me even after I freak out? Sounds real suspicious._

"An old friend, I suppose. I recognized the scent, and thought it might be him." Donghyuck looked at him for a long time, turning things around in his mind. He looked for moles, he looked for any signs of magic, but he couldn't find any.

" _What_ -"

"If you talk like that to the wrong person, you'll get eaten. Or cursed." Johnny chuckled, crossing his arms. "I'm a werewolf." He looked around them, sized Donghyuck up again, then met with his eyes once more. "We need to get you somewhere safe."

Donghyuck scowled. "The last time someone said that to me, they almost killed me four days later."

"Well, I'm not Mark. Plus, you have an option not to. I just think it's better for you to not be alone at night, especially with Mark's smell on you. He's not very popular." Johnny smiled, holding his hands up in a shrug.

Donghyuck couldn't help but smile too.

"Fine. I'll tag along. Where did you have in mind?"

At this, the moth-winged companion of his screeched, and _poof_.

He was gone.

Donghyuck didn't even notice.

"I've got a place with a couple of friends. They're pretty chill." Johnny said with a soft smile. He pulled out his phone with one hand, the other swiping through his hair. He typed away, and seconds after he was done, a small shine of light grabbed Donghyuck's attention from behind him. He spun to face it, and was met with a pinprick of red about eye-level. The light grew, a swirl of water exploding out of it and whirl-pooling around it. The display wasn't blue, like water ought to be. It was as if the origin of the swirl was a white light, and the water was red. The vortex grew, growing to be about Donghyuck's height and width.

The boy sent a nervous look back to Johnny, who smiled kindly and gestured towards the thing.

" _What is it_?" Donghyuck yelled. It was _loud_ , like a tidal wave crashing.

" _It's a portal_!" Johnny screamed back, placing large, warm hands on the ginger's lower back and ushering him forwards with a grin. Donghyuck fit perfectly, and when the warmth of Johnny's hands left him, he turned to see the large man crouching down and walking in sideways in order to fit.

Donghyuck giggled, high and lilting. Johnny did too, clear and unrestrained.

As Donghyuck turned back around, he gasped, the vortex more like a tunnel now. It was a tunnel of red water, and it calmed only underfoot. It was way warmer than the ginger thought it would be, warmth shooting up his calves with each bare step. Johnny placed another hand on his back, and they walked together until reaching the end, which was what looked like a basement.

There was a man standing in front of the exit, one who had large, boney horns on his head that resembled a ram's. Where they sprouted from his head, there was a red line from each that traced his skin all the way to his eyelids. He was holding his hands out as if he were offering a hug, but a large beam of red water was spouting out of each.

Johnny spoke from behind him, leaning in close so he wouldn't have to yell. Donghyuck could feel the boys lips against his ear, and he smiled. He couldn't place why, but he liked Johnny. Maybe it's because of how nice he was being. Maybe it's because he was a haven when Donghyuck thought he was going to be caught by an angry Mark.

_Yeah._ He thought. _That's gotta be it. Johnny is warm and sweet, and I thought I was gonna be met with cold and arrogant Mark instead._

"That's Jaehyun, he's a warlock." Johnny said, as they closed the gap between them and the end. Of course, Donghyuck had already assumed this, thanks to Mark's lesson, and felt a burst of pride in his chest. "If you wanna get on his good side really quickly, compliment his horns."

As Johnny's lips formed the last words against Donghyuck's ear, the two stepped out of the portal and Jaehyun dropped his hands, letting out soft huffs of air.

Donghyuck couldn't help his excitement. "That was really cool." He gushed, and he meant it. That was his first ever water tunnel, and it was badass. "How is the water red?" He surprised himself with how comfortable he was, freely asking questions about magic was new concept to him. If Mark wasn't a pain in the ass, maybe they could've gotten along.

  
Jaehyun was _very_ pretty. He had a small, rounded nose, that sloped downwards, with eyes that were almost completely black, but they sparkled and crinkled at the sides when his attention turned to Donghyuck. He had dyed hair- or natural, Donghyuck couldn't tell- of a cotton candy color that was cut short and parted slightly off center, and his bangs swooped off to frame each side of his face. When he opened his mouth to speak, two dimples formed in his cheeks, and a voice like honey came out. 

"It's not water, it's energy. It's 'cause my energy's color is red, to put it simply." And as he spoke, Donghyuck melted on the inside. He didn't know these people at _all_ , but compared to the last couple of days they were so pleasant and warm to be around. He didn't feel scared, or worried, he felt safe, and taken care of. He _did_ feel a little bit like an idiot though, because when he looked down at himself, he realized that his feet hadn't gotten wet at all.

Johnny spoke up, and though Donghyuck didn't look, he could tell the man was smiling as he did. "Jaehyun, this is Donghyuck. He knows-"

"-Mark. I can tell. I know that sweatshirt anywhere." The warlock chuckled, and Donghyuck melted again. It was honey, just like his voice. The horned man cast a tired look around the room, taking in all of the various books and trinkets strewn around from the portal. "I should probably start cleaning up." He sent a look back at Donghyuck, and grinned. "It was lovely meeting you." And with that, Johnny set another hand on him and led him away.

Donghyuck soon found out that this place was more of a bunker than a basement. It was bigger than he had expected, multiple large rooms and hallways passed as he and Johnny strolled towards their destination. There were stone walls everywhere, some covered in paintings, or pictures, and some not covered at all.

They finally stopped in front of an orange wooden door. As they did Johnny took away his hand, and gestured towards it. "This is my room. You can find clean clothes in the drawers, and the opening to the left is a bathroom for you to take a clean up." He paused, glancing around like he was choosing his next words very carefully.

"If you would like me to get rid of your old clothes, I can do that."

Johnny's voice was gentle, and Donghyuck frowned. He knew what he was implying, but he didn't want to. He _should_ want to get rid of Mark's sweatshirt, but he doesn't. Whenever he thinks about losing it, a wave of panic washes over him. So, he shakes his head.

"No, thank you. Is it possible for you to wash this? I don't care so much about the jeans." He said sheepishly, holding the hem of the sweatshirt so Johnny knew what he was referring to.

For a moment, only a moment, Donghyuck could've sworn that the werewolf looked disgusted, but it passed too quickly for him to be sure. He nodded, and smiled warmly.

"Sure." And without another word he spun on his heel and strode away, leaving Donghyuck to get ready.


	11. Domain Alaree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its a very long chapter, I apologize. :) i hope you like it!

When Jeno got his bearings, he registered that he was at the base of a _very_ precariously built house. He only knew this, because there were windows on three of the walls around him, and through all of them he could see large dogwood trees, and luscious, unruly grass. On the wall with no windows, there was a set of double doors, unrelated to the single, small turquoise entrance door. No house was only two rooms. The second, more obvious tell was that he could hear a dangerously loud creaking from above him, and could see a giant shadow cast over the trees through one of the windows, one that seemed to be swaying.

Taeyong let his arm slip away from Jeno, taking a couple of steps forward and turning to face him with a grin that glittered. "Welcome to Domain Alaree!" The lengthy boy extended his arms, gesturing to their surroundings.

"Is that what you named your house?" Jeno grinned too, teasing.

Taeyong giggled a little, and shook his head. "No. It's an original. It was built and named thousands of years ago." He spun on his heel, just in time to miss Jeno's nose scrunch.

"It sounds weird. Does it mean something?"

"It means 'bright light'. I don't know much else about it though. It's not my fam-" The boy stopped mid-sentence, as if the word ' _family_ ' was a hot coal on his tongue. "It's not my bloodline's."

He didnt give any explanation, just chirping a quick "Follow me" and spinning on his heel.

Taeyong took careful steps around the furniture in the room towards the ladder, brushing his hand along the couch as he passed it.

It looked like a large one room apartment with no bed. On one side, there was a large circular dining room table with all kinds of different chairs surrounding it, some tall, some short, some extravagant and some dull. On the other were overstuffed couches surrounding a large tv with crooked antenna, intricately designed carpets underfoot. Near the back was a kitchen, with all sorts of necessary appliances.

_Despite everything, it looks somewhat normal._

When Jeno was helped up the ladder by Taeyong, that thought was stomped into a million pieces.

The second floor was also a single room, and it was not normal in the slightest. His first impression was _blue_. Swirling tubes that webbed the ceiling were filled with water, and casted glittery, pale blue light over the room. There were giant cases of the liquid, shaped like giant glass incubation tubes, in three corners of the room. Each were lined with gold, and each were filled with something different.

In the first there was a swarm of what looked like leeches, but they were constantly moving in a figure eight pattern. Occasionally, one would fall out of line, and when it tried to get back in the loop, a different one would make a short, ear splitting ring, and the lost leech would promptly _pop_ , as if squeezed too hard.

In the second was a blue whale, but it was as if it was shrunken down. It looked a little bit like a shark, having a smooth, round front yet sporting rows and rows of razor teeth. It wasn't either of these animals, the blonde realized, when two leathery wings unfurled from around its dorsal fin. It snapped towards Taeyong, who ignored it.

The third, and last, was something that met Jeno's eyes as he looked. Well, at least, his _eye_. This _thing_ was quite literally a head sized eyeball, except it had little legs sprouting from its underside, legs that looked like a dogs, with velociraptor claws. It had a tail, if you can call it that, and it looked a little bit like a lizards, except it was really _fleshy_ , and it was barbed at the end. When it saw the two, the middle of its iris began to glow, a pinprick of bright yellow light. It kicked, propelling forwards, and bonked into the glass. The light grew. It was _really_ bright, almost engulfing the entire iris, and for some, stupid reason, Jeno felt the strongest urge to go to it. Before he could step at all, a boy in a cloak, who Jeno had completely missed, shot his head up from whatever he was doing, and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

His voice was a but grainy, and on the deeper side. "Rupert. Dude. What have I told you about that. You can't make friends if you try to absorb them all."

The cloak was a shimmery gold, and the boy in it was sitting down at a glass, hollow desk. It was lined with a spidery, elegant gold lining, making an elaborate design at the corners. Inside, was, no surprise, water, along with small organisms that reminded Jeno of jellyfish, save that all of their tentacles were lined with beautiful golden frills, and the bell was shaped like a star. They were all a deep blue, contrasting nicely with the light blue water.

The boy didn't turn around, hunching back over his desk after murmuring a soft "Good morning".

The rest of the room was relatively ordinary, considering. The desk was in the center of the room, and everything else seemed to be pushed against the walls. There were bookshelves full of skulls and books with demonic symbols on them, smushed against a small twin bed. The floor was a black stained wood, making the strong blue glow of the water seem more vibrant.

Taeyong hummed, continued to climb his way up the ladder, which, since entering this room, has been a deep black instead of the warm brown it was at first. When the vampire put his foot on the first prong, something clicked overhead, and a black, metal shutter unraveled to reveal the rest of the ladder, except made of metal. As they clanged their way up, they came upon the next room.

Once Jeno was high enough to stick his head into the third room, he was instantly met with the smell of cinnamon. It strongly reminded the blonde of a ski resort cabin, wooden walls, a large fluffy carpet, a queen sized bed with a large flannel blanket and several pillows. There was a boy sleeping on it, in bunny pajamas. This room even had a fireplace, which suited the room, but was a bit weird, considering they were on the third floor. There were large bean bags and fluffy blankets surrounding it, and on the mantle stood a TV. Against the back wall was a wardrobe, and a counter with a hot chocolate machine.

The ladder strangely veered into the room a little bit, but kept going up afterwards, probably to accommodate for the fireplace.

_This_ room was like a teenage boy's bedroom. There were band posters covering the walls, a TV with a small bean bag set up in front of it, along with some gaming systems. There wasn't a bed, but in it's place was a large counter covered in red stained water bottles and figurines. There was a small table at the opposite side of the room, and at it, were two people facing away from him. One was a short boy, with blonde, almost white hair, and the other was a very, _very_ tall male, who was talking softly with the boy.

Something was too familiar with the boy, on the tip of Jeno's tongue, but before he could think of it Taeyong was urging him to continue.

The creaking was significantly less loud above the two as the climbed, but Jeno could feel the building swaying, as if it were trying to cradle him asleep.

The next room was like a library, a record player next to a couch in the center of the room surrounded by bookshelf upon bookshelf. Some weren't inhabited by books, but records of every color. Each book looked extremely worn, and loved, like they've been read many times.

There was an empty wall, with a large window that let in bright light, but it didn't look like the sunlight it ought to be. Sure, Jeno could see the tops of the dogwood trees and the clouds lazily making their way across the sky, he could even see the way the rays if sun shimmered on a lake through the trees, but no sunlight entered the room. Two small symbols were on the wall under the window, ones Jeno didn't recognize. Near a bookshelf was a man in black, even his hair, and he was fixing himself a cup of coffee. There was something about the irony smell in the air that told Jeno it wasn't _just_ coffee, but Taeyong ushered him on to the next floor once more.

The last room. It must be. There were windows on all sides of the room, much like the first floor, and this time you _could_ see sunlight filtering through the long, sheer drapes covering them. There was no further way up the building, and the end of the ladder led out to a pristine white tiled flooring, making the deep black wardrobe, bed frame, and bookcase look like sudden voids, instead of physical objects. Everything else is white linen. The canopy drapes, the sheets, the comforter. There were haunting fairy lights strung up on the ceiling, framing a large skylight, emitting a strange, brilliant black light that Jeno had to force himself to look away from.

He turned to Taeyong and opened his mouth, pressing questions threatening to burst from his throat, but the man pressed a finger to the blondes thin lips before they could. The vampire's eyes weren't black in the sun, but were a sort of copper, the dim light in the alley from before doing no justice to their shine.

"Go, clean up. You need it." He grinned, his voice silvery. Clear, light, pleasant. "You can dig around in the wardrobe over there, but I think Chenle's clothing style will suit you better."

And for a second, for one uncontrollable second, Jeno felt like he was going to piss himself. The second passed, but it must've shown on his face, or at least in his eyes, because Taeyong's mirth filled grin ghosted away to leave a worried frown, and a crinkle in between his sharp eyebrows.

The new blood didn't know why, but the vampire in front of him whispered a soft, guilty _Im sorry_ , as if he had forgotten something very important to Jeno. Taeyong looked extremely cautious, leaning forward and gently wrapping his arms around Jeno in a hug, one with meaning. A meaning that Jeno didn't quite understand.

He left shortly after that, leaving behind a very confused Jeno.

—————

He eventually found something that fit him, and slipped into the bathroom, which was also a black and white room. Black tile, white counters, black faucet, white shower, black walls. He starts the shower, running cold water to save the hot for when he gets in, and then starts to strip, almost tripping over his jeans as he padded over to the mirror.

What he sees _isn't him_. It's not him and for second he waits for someone to jump out and tell him its a joke.

No one does.

Coppery brown hair, pink eyes, the palest skin he's ever seen. You can see it's rib cage, which isn't like Jeno at all. Jeno spends half of his life at the gym. Whatever this is doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, and has never seen the light of day.

_I'm a vampire_. He thought, letting out a humorous scoff. _How could I be so stupid? You can't see vampires in mirrors._ He grinned, shaking his head at himself, bringing the palm of his hand up to bonk his temple playfully.

The thing in the mirror copied him.

Jeno wasn't smiling anymore, trying to figure out which would be worse; that there is someone behind him that looks that horrid, or that really is him.

He frowned deeply, as did the mirror, and reached up to touch his hair. It was brittle, rough to the touch. Fighting a shudder, he glanced down at himself.

_Blink. If you blink, maybe it will change. Maybe you're just seeing things because you're hungry._ He told himself.

And he _was_ indeed hungry, but when he blinked and blinked and blinked, nothing changed.

Jeno frowned. _This is wrong._

Blink.

_I look like a fucking albino rat._

He found himself moving without thinking, in the shower before he was done with the thought. The water was warm, yet when he looked it was running cold.

After he was done, dutifully ignoring the flash of clean blonde hair and pale skin as he passed the mirror, he got dressed silently, and paced back out to Taeyong's room. The male was perched on the edge of his bed, and the art of hiding your emotions has never gifted Jeno, but today it must have escaped him completely because when Taeyong met his eyes, he looked at him like he was a kicked puppy. He smiled, and it was full of sorrow.

"Thats how things usually go. Its the venom." His voice was painfully soft, and Jeno began tearing up. Taeyong saw _this_ , too.

————

Jeno had spent most of the time after his shower with Taeyong, who walked with him outside and told long, calming stories about the names of flowers and someone he used to love. He wouldn't say who, but hearing how Taeyong felt about them was nice.

But now, it was lunch time, and having stuffed all of his vampire worries down into the depths of his brain, Jeno could not be happier.

Once the two made their way back inside, everyone Jeno had passed during his earlier ascension was sitting in the mismatch chairs around the dining room table, all except two: The pale blonde boy, and the tall man with him.

Jeno plopped down in a crooked, purple armchair, waiting patiently for whatever food was on the menu. Taeyong spoke up.

"Boys. This is Jeno. Im sure I don't have to explain why he's here." He looked at the blonde, tilting his head in the direction of the three other boys. "Jeno, this is Jaemin, Renjun, and Doyoung."

They each gave a nod, or a smile, when their names were said, and Jeno, being the social person he is, couldn't help himself.

"So, are you guys blood suckers too?"

The one in the cloak, Jaemin, threw his head back hard enough to knock his hood off and let out a loud, intense laugh.

"Imagine." He managed to get out, amusement seeping through his words. "No, no. Im a warlock."

Jeno squinted at him. "What the _fuck_ is a warlock?Magic, obviously, but why not just call yourself a witch? Or, wizard, I suppose." He tilted his head, his voice full of genuine curiosity.

Jaemin laughs again, and it was almost brash.

"I take it you havent had the chance to talk to Denny, or Mark." The cloaked boy in front of him had silver hair, and vibrant orange eyes. The irises weren't shaped like they ought to be, they were slits, like cat eyes, and just like a cat's, there was hardly any space for the whites of the eyes. There were large scars framing his face, and going down his neck, like tiger stripes, and Jeno could guess they went down his back, too. The curve of his nose and the bow of his lips were gentle, and his smile was beautiful.

Jeno thought it made the boy look cool.

When Jaemin noticed the acute staring, he flipped his hood back up, shadows hiding the details of his face as he continued to speak.

"Witches and wizards and warlocks are all different kinds of magic people, to put it simply. Witches are born with power, wizards learn it." He explained kindly, his mouth faltering a little when he smiles.

Taeyong clears his throat, interrupting right as the warlock opened his mouth. "Jaemin, would you kindly finish up lunch? I didn't expect to be back inside so early, I apologize."

He sighs, as if he was relieved, and nods, his chair scraping the wooden floor as he got up and strode to the kitchen.

_What the hell? Did I do something wrong?_

Taeyong sent a glance in the blonde's direction. "He's self conscious about this demon mark. Warlocks are born from demons, and they are left with a mark to show for it."

Jeno sent a look back, his mouth making an 'O'.

"That's ok, he'll be back to his cheery self in no time." The one that was still in bunny pajamas, Renjun, waved a hand dismissively. He had olive skin, a nose that curved downwards, and thin lips, his eyebrows tilting upwards in a carefree expression. He had light brown hair, just like Taeyong's, except it was a bit shorter, and his eyes were a chocolate brown.

Jeno shrugged. "I'll compliment them later."

The all black man, from the library room, scoffed, shaking his head slowly. "Trying to get into his pants isn't something anyone needs right now. Especially you." His smile was playful, but his dark eyes held no jokes.

"Doyoung, don't ruin this! Jaemin could use some lovin'." Taeyong grinned, truly sounding like a mom.

Doyoung looked a little bit like a bunny. He had a thin top lip, a very round nose, and two big black eyes. His skin was pale and his short, black hair and black long sleeved shirt only made him look paler. He had an undercut, and wore a thick, black strip of silk around his neck, like a choker.

_He looks like he belongs in Taeyong's room._

Doyoung opened his mouth to reply, and by the look on his face it was going to be a sharp one, but he was interrupted by a loud, energetic, "Food time!" From Jaemin.

The boy was strolling to the table, a large pot floating next to his head, and one of his hands outstretched. In his palm was a flower of blue fire, right under the pot. 

It was set on the table gently, and Renjun hit his wrist on the table in his rush to make himself a plate. Taeyong served him a stern look, and Renjun smiled sheepishly in return. He leaned over to Jeno, and whispered in his ear."Jaemin is the best cook here. You've gotta try-" there was a loud thump from underneath the table, and he stopped abruptly, opening his mouth in a silent "ow" and shooting a glare at Doyoung, who scowled.

Jeno couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. _What the fuck is wrong with these people. What did that stupid steampunk guy get Donghyuck and I into._

Both Jaemin and Renjun scooped the contents of the pot, which looked like a pink version of chicken noodle soup, onto their plates. Jeno _almost_ did the same, but once the boy beside him had his plate in front of him, the smell reached Jeno's nose, and he had to tense his entire body to resist _retching_.

_Holy shit. That's rotting. It smells like its rotting._

Even so, both boys were scarfing it down as if it didnt smell like roadkill.

Taeyong and Doyoung shared a look across the table, and the latter stood up. Turning towards the blonde, he offered his hand.

"Jeno, lets have a talk."


	12. Painful Memories and Ruthless Words

The talk with Doyoung was a very, _very_ long one.

It was a bunch of nothing at first. 'Where do you live?' 'What is your major?' 'What's your favorite color?' 'Favorite food?'

It lasted for hours, idle conversation. Doyoung getting to know Jeno. It was nice, to feel like someone cares about you and wants to know you. Even if the conversation was just to soften the blow of what was to come, it felt nice.

Hours, its been hours, and Doyoung stopped his pacing to lean against the large desk in the room. They were both in the only other room on the base floor, and it turned out to be a sort of office. There was a large map of an area Jeno didn't recognize behind the desk, and a leather loveseat pressed into a corner next to the door. A large book case was next to the map, with books of different languages and almanacs. There was a weird tapestry on one wall, decorated with an equally weird poem printed on it with golden fabric. Something about 'the risen' and 'summer's temper' or whatever. Jeno had made himself comfortable on the loveseat long ago, ten minutes into the talk, and was currently zoning out, making up his own meanings for the poem that made him giggle.

"I assume that you're aware of my real intentions for this talk?" Doyoung looked at him evenly, not giving much away.

Jeno snapped his head back to look at the vampire, a little embarrassed. "No."

"Transition. Im going to tell you how to finish your transition, but, before anything, you have to make a really important decision." His voice was airy and serious, not at all like the light, sarcastic tone he had with Taeyong. "You have to decide whether you _want_ to finish transition or not."

Jeno huffed out a short laugh. "What? I'll die if I don't."

Doyoung's face didn't change, still serious, black eyes trained on the blonde's.

Jeno wasn't laughing anymore. "You're serious? Like, this is an honest question? Of course I want to. I dont want to die."

"This isn't the type of question you answer on the spot. You have _no_ idea what finishing transition means, or what it _does_ to you." He sounded frustrated now, like he's had to explain this thousands of times and has gotten the same answer.

"Then tell me. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

The black haired male crossed his arms over his chest with a sigh, and his eyes fell shut. "You have to drink someone's blood, without venom."

"Is that it?" And he almost, _almost_ got away with sounding nonchalant, but his voice wavered ever so slightly and he _knew_ Doyoung heard it because of the way his eyes slowly opened. When they landed on him, they held fire. In them was an acceptance to a challenge, a challenge Jeno didn't realize he presented. His eyes said; _If you can't handle the truth, it's your fault for telling me you can._

"No. It's not. You have to kill them, thats what that means. The only reason you're 'alive' right now is because chen- because that fledgling couldn't control himself and filled you with almost every drop of venom he had." His voice was extremely calm, but his eyes still held fire. "I take it you don't even know what the venom does? It-"

"I do." Jeno cut in, his deep voice icy.

_I don't_.

"It turns you. Duh."

Doyoung's lips parted, his eyes squinting. He was silent for a minute, before continuing. “No. It mixes with a pint of blood in your body, and keeps it pumping through your brain. If it stops going to your brain," he pointed to his temple, moving to his heart. "It cant go to your heart, and if it cant go to your heart, you cant function correctly." He swung a leg out in front of him, using the momentum to get away from the desk. He started pacing again.

  
  
"When your blood stops pumping, when you run out, you don't die. There are very, _very_ few ways for you to die if you're like Taeyong and I. You start losing your mind. You start going batshit. You start _decaying_." 

Jeno flinched, a memory of wriggling under his skin, tendons and veins snapping as he clawed at it.

He didn't realize Doyoung had stopped in front of him until he started speaking again. He was holding up to what his eyes had said. He was brutal, his voice honest, intense.

"The first day you feel fine. A little tipsy, but fine. The second day you get horrible stomach aches, and somehow that moth you've been seeing around got into your room." He sounded sour, like he knew how real this is. Like he was recalling a horrible memory. "The third day is when the buzzing starts. There's always a buzzing. A very, very quiet buzzing that never goes away, not even if you hit your head. Your eyes start to feel dry and watery at the same time. The buzzing never stops. You can't sleep."

Jeno snapped his gaze up from the floor, his hand twitching with the urge to reach out to him. Doyoung's voice wasn't sour anymore. It was rough, quiet. It was scared, and disgusted. Wavering like he was convulsing, even when his face was eerily neutral. It was Horrified.

"The fourth day is when you start to lose it." He was whispering now, so quiet that Jeno had to lean in just to hear. "The fourth day is when you cant keep track of time anymore. Suddenly you cant sit still, the buzzing in your brain is louder, and you can feel it. You can feel it in your brain. The moth you saw is gone. You feel something in you, something that wont stop moving, pushing your insides around. You cant stay in the same spot for too long. Day four is the day you _really_ lose it. The old human in you starts to shine through. You feel happy, euphoric, uneasy, itchy, suicidal, disgusting, but when your stupid, human brain decides that you should try and commit suicide, when your stupid human brain slits your wrists, there are no veins to cut through. There is no blood. Pink muscle like a chicken, an open wound, cut tendons to where you cant use that hand, but no blood. And the wound wont fix itself. Not like it should when you drink blood, not like it ought to."

It was silent for a long moment, and Jeno could hear the cicadas outside start to quiet down. The sun was rising.

One look into Doyoung's wide eyes told Jeno everything he needed to know, all except for one.

_Who did this to you?_

The man in front of him cleared his throat, and spun around. "You get the idea." Whatever pain Jeno just saw, whatever raw memory that _was_ , it was already gone, covered up by his usual airy voice, his usual seriousness.

"However," he turned back around slowly, the corners of his mouth raised. It was leisurely, the fire relighting in his eyes. "That is only if you are in that specific situation. Given that humans are everywhere, that is a rare issue. A common issue is the hunger." He scoffed, shaking his head slowly. "The other thing, the madness, that can go away with food and some incisions, but the actual hunger? That never goes away. You can drink and drink and drink until it spills from your heart and into your lungs but it wont help. You're _never_ gonna quench that hunger." The man in black crouched down to be eye level with the blonde.

"Now, Jeno. I'll leave you to think about this for a little." And for the first time, he sounded sympathetic.

With those last words, Doyoung stopped talking. He pat Jeno on the shoulder gently, and left the room.

Jeno hadn't had the guts to joke after the first time, or even think about joking. His brain wasn't quite registering what was happening yet because he felt _numb_. Doyoung's words were repeating in his head, the horror in his voice, the seriousness of his demeanor. He wasn't like that at the dinner table, and that only made Jeno feel even more stupid for joking about something this serious.

_God dammit. This is horrible. I either die, or I have to kill people._

He knew this was shock, he knew that the reality of the situation would hit later. He already knew his decision though. It was never anything different.

_Donghyuck is still alive. I want to live to see him._

Jeno was no fool, he wasn't in love with the tan boy. He found himself shoving all of the vampire shit away, pushing them to rest with his new unsettling appearance, and smiled a little. He knew Donghyuck as well as he knew himself. He could see him now, talking animatedly in their living room. Honey skin glowing in the sun on a beach. Button nose scrunching as his high, nasally voice complained about his boss. His throaty laugh bouncing off the walls of their apartment. His brown eyes sparkling a little as Jeno mentioned Mark.

_Mark_.

"Fuck." He muttered, standing up abruptly and moving to swing open the doors.

_I'm such an idiot. I cant believe I didn't ask before. Mark said he's a witch. If he's really a witch then they must know him, and I bet he's the one that took Donghyuck. That fucking bastard._

Before his hands could close around the handles, the doors opened, revealing Doyoung holding two juice boxes with an apple on each.

He smiled briefly, swaying one from side to side. "I thought you might be hungry." Handing Jeno a juice box, he strode inside, leaning against the desk.

The blonde opened his mouth to ask about the witch, but before he could, Doyoung spoke first. "Have you got any idea on what your answer might be? I would understand if you haven't made a decision yet." He sounded apologetic, like he realized he had been too abrasive. Maybe he was. Jeno wouldn't know, not until everything breaks free from the bottle he's keeping it in.

Jeno took a sip from the juice box, tasting something that reminded him of a bowl of ramen.

His resolve wavered for a second, second guessing his strength to kill a human being and be able to live with it.

But then another image of a happy, tan ginger flashed across his mind and he nodded.

"I'll do it." His voice came out stronger than he expected, steady and clear.

"Ok. Then I'll tell Taeyong." Doyoung said quietly standing up from the desk again. It wasn't as calm as it was meant to sound, if Jeno really listened. It was frantic, under the surface. But he didn't listen, he opened his mouth instead to ask about Mark.

Yet again, he was interrupted. Doors opened. Figures appeared. Within seconds the small room was filled with people and commotion and noise.

"Get the hell off me." Ordered someone. Jeno hadn't quite memorized voices to faces yet.

_It smells like honeysuckles._ A passing thought prodded.

Jeno could recognize the back of Taeyong's head, but couldn't see anyone else from behind him. So, he shuffled over to the desk next to Doyoung, who had sat back down with a grin.

The blonde's eyes narrowed.

There stood, clad in that same, odd waistcoat ensemble, the witch. _The fucking witch._

He was being escorted into the room by Renjun, and Jaemin, who each had an arm locked with one of Mark's, and wore a calm, bored expression. Jaemin wasn't wearing the cloak anymore, but instead wore a slim fitting black t-shirt with black sweats. His silver hair was ruffled from sleep, and his birthmark was on full display. They really did look like tiger stripes.

Renjun, on the other hand, was dressed in _real_ clothes, opposed to the pajamas he had on during dinner. He was wearing black jeans with small, scattered rips in them, and a red long sleeved shirt. He looked rather awake, compared to a frowning Jaemin.

"I said, get the hell off." Mark didn't struggle, but honeysuckles were falling from his hair, floating around his neck and torso.

Taeyong gently waved a hand, and both boys let go of the witch, who moved as if to wipe his face. With the motion, the fallen flowers raised above his head. They twisted and turned, and as they did they each shifted into red and black wildflowers, placing themselves prettily in his hair.

He sent a tired glare in Taeyong's direction, and the vampire shrugged in response. "Sorry, Minhyung. The last time we tried to call you to a meeting, you strung Jaemin up in a rose bush and turned into mist."

"I did not ' _turn into mist_ '. I mist shifted. It's like a teleportation smoke bomb." He retorted, fastening an open waistcoat button. "You guys interrupted a really important non-verbal spell study. That's why the demon got wrapped in a rose bush." He grinned, jabbing a thumb towards Jaemin, who poked Mark's ribs.

"The meeting was literally about _this_ situation. Mr.Kim was there, representing _you_." Taeyong remarked.

"Well, I'm here now."

"He lost the boy." Renjun chirped, throwing an arm around Jaemin's shoulders.

Doyoung scoffed. "How did the _big_ , _bad_ Minhyung lose his little pet?"

"He wasn't very content with his living situation."

Jaemin scrunched his nose. "You kidnapped him."

"He _willingly_ followed me."

"He wasn't in his right mind! His best friend died in front of him!"

It clicked in Jeno's head.

_So he_ did _have Donghyuck._

He stood up, pointing a finger at the witch. "You lost him?! What is wrong with you?!"

Mark snapped his eyes over to Jeno, almost as if he didnt notice him in the room until now. "Nothing is wrong with me." He said stiffly, turning to address Doyoung. "I didn't lose him. He ran away."

The vampire frowned. "What did you do to make him run away? You said he seemed to be comfortable enough around you."

"He asked to leave. I said no, per your orders. He didn't like that and started a fight. Then tried to leave. So, I knocked him out." Mark was speaking in choppy sentences, obviously still peeved.

Jeno looked like he could kill. "You knocked him out?! What is wrong with you?!"

Mark's attention once again snapped over to the blonde, and in the dark green depths of his eyes you could see a snap, followed by embers of gold beginning to glow. 

His black hair ruffled itself, the wildflowers exploding into poofs of golden pollen and white petals. It smelled like honeysuckles. Jeno could see Jaemin tense up beside the witch, beginning to take small steps forward towards Mark.

" _Shut your dirty, maggot filled mouth_."

Mark's voice wasn't loud, but Jeno felt it slam into his chest with its intensity. He opened his mouth to suck in a sharp gasp, but something fizzy fell down his throat, making him cough. His tongue was buzzing, like he had put pop rocks underneath it, and his mouth was foaming up. He could feel the bubbles filling his cheeks, starting to harden as the seconds passed. It tasted like dirt, and he had a vague flash of open veins and an open grave.

Jeno couldn't hear, couldn't see, too focused on the foul tasting squishy things vibrating in his mouth.

No, not vibrating.

Writhing.

_There were maggots in his mouth._

He shook his head violently, opening his mouth to ask for mercy, to ask for it to stop, but no words came out, only clusters of white movement.

And, just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.

No maggots, no foam. Nothing.

When Jeno finally looked back up at Mark, the boy was being held by the shoulders, looking dazed, and when he met his gaze, he looked horrified. Only for a moment, before Jaemin slammed his back against the wall and his expression settled back into an infuriating complacency.

"That's enough, Jaemin." Taeyong sighed, striding up to the two and gently prying them apart. He turned to Mark with sad eyes, and Jeno thought that Taeyong was like a mother that see's her child slipping away, knowing that there's nothing she can do to stop it. The other's, aside from Doyoung, who seemed to be a separate power, seemed to look up to him, and he himself seemed to take care of them, as if he _was_ a mother. He whispered something to the witch, cupping his face, and swiping his thumbs under his eyes. It was quick, and Jeno could've been convinced that it didn't happen at all.

Stepping backwards, Taeyong wandered over to stand on the other side of Doyoung. "So, how did he get out?"

Mark cleared his throat, sounding unbelievably tired when the words started to drip from his mouth. "He climbed out of my bedroom window. Circe let me know, but it was too late. I was mid meditation."

Renjun scoffed. "The cactus? Your alarm system is a cactus?"

"Among other things, yes."

"Well, where did he go?" Jeno spoke cautiously, but there was heat in his words.

"I saw him heading towards Mightwick."

Doyoung grunted. "That's hardly helpful. That town is big, and busy. Not to mention the crime rate. A human walking freely around Mightwick? Thats like a walking bounty."

"I could try and sniff him out, if you want?" Renjun shrugged, tapping Mark on the shoulder. When the witch glanced over at the boy, he spoke again. "What does he smell like?"

"What?"

"You heard me. What does he smell like?"

Mark frowned. "How should I know? My house probably. He took my hoodie." He turned to look at him completely. "Aren't betas basically humans? They're like the least proficient in everything a werewolf should be."

Renjun clicked his tongue. "Don't be mean, I've still got better senses than you."

Mark opened his mouth to talk back, but Taeyong held a hand up. He sent a glance to Jaemin, who nodded, and ushered Renjun out the door.

"Stay here. Watch Jeno, and watch your temper. Doyoung will be upstairs. He _will_ know if you leave, or pull any magical bullshit. We'll be back."

  
Leaving no room to say anything more, Taeyong closing the door behind him as he walked out with Doyoung close behind.


	13. Foggy Minded

Donghyuck has never seen anything washed and dried so quickly in his entire life.

When he was done with his shower, which took him less than eight minutes, he picked out sweat pants from Johnny's drawers, and poked his head out the door to peek into the hallway. There it was, folded neatly on the ground in front of him. He slipped it on, grimacing at the smell. It was oranges and soap. He hated it.

Cringing, he padded into the hallway, the cold, slick slabs of stone shooting ice up his legs. He really wished he had taken his shoes with him. They were currently collecting dust by Mark's front door.

As Donghyuck walked aimlessly, he heard warm laughter carrying itself through the stone hallways. He followed it, smiling as it grew louder and louder until the smooth walls stopped abruptly, replaced with red bricks. There was a room in front of him, red carpets overlapping on the floor to cover the cold stone slabs, and large, overstuffed couches pressed against the walls. Several people were inside, including Johnny and Jaehyun.

It was as if Johnny heard him coming long before he got there, and considering what werewolves are capable of, he probably did, because when he stepped into the room completely, Johnny was already looking at him with kind eyes.

"Ah! Donghyuck, come here, come sit." He called, and all of the sudden there were warm hands around his own, surrounding the ginger with smells of cinnamon buns and honey as he was dragged down onto a couch.

Over two laps.

One of which was Jaehyun's.

Donghyuck felt fire creep up his neck, and tittered out a laugh, moving as quick as possible to get up. He heard Johnny's choppy laugh as he got situated, and he could tell the boy with horns next to him was holding in one of his own.

Someone sitting on the floor, and honestly for a moment Donghyuck had forgotten there were other people in the room, chuckled as well. The ginger looked up, counting heads. There were six people, excluding him.

"You're probably confused...and nervous." Honey to Donghyuck's ears. He found himself nodding, even though he didn't feel either of those things. Jaehyun grinned and turned his head to the rest of the room, an arm slung across the cushions behind Donghyuck's neck. "Let's introduce ourselves, shall we?"

There was one other couch in the room, along with a bunch of small, comfortable looking chairs surrounding a crooked brick fireplace that was lit with a not quite red, but not quite pink flame. One of the chair occupants had short cropped, dirty blonde hair and a top lip that slightly hooked in the middle, like a beak. Something about him was familiar, and he very distantly reminded Donghyuck of Mark. Compared to the witch, _this_ guy had pale, golden eyes. Donghyuck wouldn't even call them gold, as they were very flat in color. He was wearing a grey hoodie, with faded green gym shorts, and was watching The ginger with amusement.

"I'm Taeil. Nice to meet you, Donghyuck." He sounded oddly fascinated, like he's never seen anything quite like the ginger before.

Before Donghyuck could open his mouth to return the greeting, two people sitting awfully close on the couch across from him spoke up.

"Hi, Donghyuck"

"Hello, Donghyuck"

They spoke in unison, hurting Donghyuck's head a little. He felt tired, and felt very, _very_ compelled to fall asleep while snuggling into the warm bodies next to him.

_Donghyuck, stop._ He scolded himself, feeling another burst of heat attempting to invade his face. He couldn't help but put his guard down, though, because these people that he hardly knew made him feel so... happy.

He felt _wanted_.

Mark made him feel like an annoying bug.

He felt Johnny squeeze his hand gently, having kept them around Donghyuck's, drawing him away from his thoughts.

One of the boys on the couch had long hair, not quite touching his shoulders, but going halfway down his neck. It was a dusty brown color, and he had a large, warm smile. His eyes were brown, sparkling as they scanned Donghyuck's face, and his nose was very defined. "Hi." He beamed. "I'm Yuta. This is Sicheng." He nodded a head to a boy who was almost on top of him.

"Hello." The boy said kindly, his smile shy. He had a sort of milk-chocolate hair color, and it split off center, swooping off to the sides of his head. He kind of looked like a teddy bear.

They looked relatively normal, like humans ought to, and didn't fit any of the tells that Mark taught him. Donghyuck wasn't really sure what sort of things made sorcerers...sorcerers, so he pushed that to the side. On top of that, they seemed dull, no offense, so they couldn't be witches. From what Donghyuck has gathered, witches seem to give off some sort of aura. Mark's was wonderful and full of life and sunshine until he was set off and it turned angry and muddy and dangerously sweet. Taeil's was something that was strong and loud and it rumbled from deep within the dirty blonde's chest. Sicheng and Yuta had... nothing.

He must've been staring for a bit too long, because he felt something sturdy brush his head and the smell of honey surround him as Jaehyun leaned towards the golden skinned boy. "Werewolves, both of them. They're always the hardest to figure out, hm?" And then he chuckled and Donghyuck _really_ wanted to stick his tongue down his throat.

Johnny choked on something, laughing brutally through equally brutal coughs. He rubbed a thumb on the ginger's knuckles, getting his attention. " _You need to keep in mind that all of the werewolves in this room are built to smell emotions. The three of us can tell that you want him to do you, just from how you smell_." He whispered, giggling through his words.

_Well shit. That's embarrassing._

All this laughing and teasing reminded him of Jeno, and how comfortable his presence was and how much he missed him. It reminded him a _lot_ of his relationship with Jeno, actually.

_Something isn't—_

But before his eyebrows could even draw together completely, Jaehyun was trailing his fingers on the inside of Donghyuck's arm and gesturing towards a boy sprawled on the floor, who waved with a small smile. He didn't meant to, but he opened his mouth and mumbled out a greeting. He wasn't even sure what it was, or if it was even coherent. The constant swirling of Jaehyun's fingers against the soft part of his forearm shoved away whatever he had been thinking before, leaving him with a nice warm feeling in his chest.

The boy on the floor, _he_ was a sorcerer. That's the first clear thought in his head after the warlock's hand came to rest on the ginger's wrist.

He had bleached hair, obvious in how the dark, black roots of his original color were starting to take back over, and had strange, white eyes. Not like the cliche cloudy eyes, but an unsettling, pure white. The only definition in them was a thin black ring indicating the outline of the iris, and another thin ring indicating the outline of the pupil. They reminded Donghyuck of a coloring book. The boy raised a surprisingly large hand to wave, and on his palm was a strange pattern of scars that were as black as tar, as if his blood was the night sky. There were seven eyeball sized circles, six of them circling one in the center, and each had a different symbol on them that made Donghyuck feel like there were eggs hatching behind his eyes the longer he looked. So, he directed his attention to the boy's face instead. His face was rather long, and he had small, pointed eyes. His mouth was small too, and really everything about him felt the same, his voice included, even though it was amazingly deep and his legs were stretched out long across the red carpets.

"I'm Jisung, nice to meet you." His voice felt like it was pulled from the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, and Donghyuck found himself smiling.

He felt Johnny retract his hand, and in an instant everyone in front of him seemed to talk to him at once, a cacophony of voices only converging as they all said one word, one god damned word, returning to the chaos of their individual chatter after.

_"Did you see Mark's grimoire?_

_"I heard that Mark got your friend killed, is it true?"_

_"Do you remember where Mark lives?"_

_"Did Mark hurt you?"_

_"Has Mark shown you any of his friends?"_

They were all asking about Mark, all at once, and it made Donghyuck feel a little less welcome, until Jaehyun, who sat quietly, once again started to trace little patterns on his arm and he nearly slumped over. He couldn't place it, this feeling, because whenever he tried to, something stopped him, and when he thought about _what_ that something might be, it stopped him once more.

He tried his best to concentrate, a quick feeling ofapprehension shooting through him before vanishing completely. He really wished he could follow that train of thought, but the more he tried to, the farther he felt from it. Something prodded him to answer each question, and he struggled to talk without telling them too much. He tried not to lose _all_ of his sense, encouraging himself to remember that they were still strangers.

Johnny sighed, a certain shift in his breath that let Donghyuck know he was smiling.

Donghyuck wasn't.

————————-

It was a long time before he left that room, the pinkish fire gone in a small red mushroom cloud of smoke as they all began to evacuate. It was right around the time that Yuta and Winwin had gotten bored of the conversation, and instead began to suck on each others faces, that seemed to be the clue for everyone to get out. It felt weird, to see that. Not in the perverted way, it was a more anxious feeling. He almost felt wrong, almost felt out of place, almost felt scared, _almost_ , but he couldn't remember, because Jaehyun was holding one of his hands and Johnny the other and it was all gone just as quick as it had come.

Johnny let go of him, instead slinging an arm over the smaller boy's shoulders. "You must be starving. I bet Mark was giving you some weird ass food, too. Dont worry, we're not freakish like he is, we'll hook you up."

Again, something felt wrong to him, and it was making something deep inside his chest fidget with his heart. He couldn't tell, because it was always right before his epiphany when Jaehyun would pay special attention to him. That in and of itself was unsettling to Donghyuck, but he couldn't tell, and didn't mind. The guy was too pretty, too pretty to question, and thats if Donghyuck _could_ think about it.

They walked through the confusing hallways, the ginger feeling more lost by the second, passing by paintings and tapestries that looked hundreds of years old. One painting in particular caught the boy's eye.

It was very wide, taking up about four feet of the smooth walls, and was about three feet tall, a golden frame contrasting nicely with the fiery colors on the canvas. And oh, were they fiery.

It was amazing. The first things Donghyuck _really_ saw were two boney ram horns on a head of pastel pink hair. It was quite a sight, the Jaehyun in the painting, looking just as good as the one right next to the ginger, surrounded by huge waves of fire and unending furls of smoke. Everyone else was there too, Donghyuck smiling as he recognized Johnny and Taeil, then Jisung next to the werewolf couple. He reached out with a free hand, not realizing he had stopped walking until reality shattered whatever haze was put over him. His fingers traced over the figures softly, enjoying the texture of the oil paint as he let his hands guide him to the rest of the painting.

The figures were standing, some sitting, in the middle of what looked like a large opening in the bunker they were currently in, some sort of room Donghyuck hadn't seen yet. As his eyes followed his fingers, that itchy feeling beside his heart started again. He could think clearly, for now, and he decided it was because of Jaehyun that he couldn't. Whether it was a crush or magic, he was going to take advantage of it's absence.

He saw two other- no, _three_ other figures in the painting, one almost hidden on the weird red ground. One had very, very blonde hair, and two little pinpricks of something white in their mouth. Another had orange hair, similar to Donghyuck's, and they were slumped on the ground at the blonde's feet, lying in that strange redness. The third figure had black hair, almost blendingin with the moody background, and was tethered onto something that resembled a cross. Their chest was cut open, from their collar bone to their bellybutton, and dark, deep clots of smoke and golden dust were erupting from the opening. There were two beams of gold shooting from the raven haired boy's eyes, and they twisted and turned and merged with the intense smoke from his chest, clashing in the middle of all of the bodies in the room to create a huge swirl of fumes.

Donghyuck opened his mouth, his tongue anxious, trying to form the words to call out for Johnny, but the mass of smoke in the middle of the oil painting had two large, golden eyes, and it made his stomach squeeze painfully. The painting was getting more and more violent the more he looked, his fingers giving up their journey and his eyes taking in the piece all at once. The red head was lying in blood, thats what the red liquid _must_ be, blood that was trickling towards the hurricane of whatever the _hell_ owned those eyes. There was a thin circle around the thing, red and drippy and made of runes that reminded Donghyuck of the ones on Jisung's hands, and the blonde had a foot on the poor gingers head, looking towards the tortured male on the cross with victory in his eyes.

Before he had the chance to analyze any further, he heard footsteps behind him, and a hand wrapped around the nape of his neck gently, comforting. He couldn't remember what had made him start to panic, even as he gazed back up at the art in front of him and met the terrifying eyes in the smoke. Jaehyun murmured something, the boy had no idea what, in the ginger's ear and Donghyuck giggled, leaning back to find Jaehyun's stomach pressed against him as the warlock urged the boy to follow Johnny, who was waiting with an easy smile. He failed to notice the flash of emotions behind the werewolf's eyes, thanks to Jaehyun.

There was now an arm around his waist, the warmth on his neck gone as well as the body hovering behind him, and Donghyuck thought it belonged to Jaehyun. Well, no, he _hoped_ it belonged to Jaehyun because whatever tension he was feeling when he was looking at the painting was gone and something was making his head too fuzzy to concentrate on who he was currently leaning into. There was another arm, now, circling his waist from the other side, and something must've slipped out of Jaehyun's fuzz because Donghyuck could recognize that his entire body felt foreign, he recognized he was _scared_ , and for a moment, the only moment he had to actually _think_ , something shot out of his blurry mind.

_Am I about to be raped?_

Donghyuck was all about physical affection, he ate it up, but something felt wrong about this. When he could, he thought about Jeno, and how much these people acted like they knew him as well as Jeno did. But, of course, his thoughts were washed away by another wave of warmth and honey. They made it to the kitchen, a room with cabinets and counters lining the walls, stainless steel appliances, and an oven that almost went to Donghyuck's shoulders.

Donghyuck would've thought ' _I think something is wrong with me, I think he broke me_ ', but he didn't, because he could barely see straight. He saw Johnny with heart eyes, walking towards him with a bowl and a spoon. He was being fed, and Jaehyun must've said something to him again because Donghyuck felt lips, soft on his ear, and he could distantly feel his chest stuttering from the giggles spilling from his mouth. Whatever was being fed to him caught on one of his breaths, and suddenly he was doubled over, coughing. The pink haired boy launched away from him, as did the brunette, and as soon as reality struck Donghyuck he took large steps to the opposite side of the room.

But Jaehyun was fast, and by the time Donghyuck stopped coughing he was almost in touching distance.

"Please, stop. Wait." The red head cleared his throat, throwing a hand up in weak defense. "Jaehyun, wait."

The warlock froze, and Johnny seemed to do the same, the two sharing a quick look. "What's wrong? Are you ok? Did I hurt you?" His voice floated gently through Donghyuck's body, his hand dropping to his side as his brain settled down.

He was sleepy.

"What are you doing to my head?" The boy murmured, lifting his chin to at least _feel_ assertive.

Something about the way Jaehyun's jaw tightened, or maybe it was the way his eyes flashed, made Donghyuck's stomach drop and he felt the corners of his mouth droop.

"Oh. I was trying to make you feel more safe, us being strangers and all, but I guess I went overboard. Sorry about that."

He didn't sound sorry.

"But you drugged me with magic. How is that supposed to make me feel safe?"

Jaehyun's eyebrows slowly raised, and something in the way he was eating Donghyuck up with his eyes made the boy shiver. "I suppose you're right. I wanted you to be— how should I say this? More pliant, so that you wouldn't react negatively to anything." He looked pleased with his explanation. Johnny on the other hand flinched when the warlock said the word 'pliant'.

Donghyuck did too, alarm shooting through his system, threatening to shut him down.

"You—"

He sucked in a breath as Jaehyun took a step forward, and the horned boy smiled softly. It was almost enough to get _Donghyuck_ to apologize, which, when it crossed the boys mind, made him shake his head.

"You sound like Mark."

And as the words left the red head's mouth, he could see a fiery jolt of abhorrence ripple through the man in front of him.

Jaehyun tried to reach out to him, opening his mouth for another apology, but Johnny clapped his hands with a sigh. "Donghyuck, lets get you to bed, yeah? Come on."

There was only enough time for an apologetic glance towards the warlock before Johnny wrapped a firm arm around him and led him away.


	14. What a Shame

  
Johnny led Donghyuck back to his room, insisting that the boy should get some sleep. And oh, did he try, but sleep wouldn't come to him.

It wasn't one of those situations where it was nowhere in sight, because he could see sleep curling the edges of his vision, but he laid for two hours and it was still taunting him, torturing him with flashes of yellow eyes emerging from a fog. The only upside was recovering the memories he had lost while he was under Jaehyun's spell. There weren't many, only some scattered, fleeting thoughts made of panic. Fleeting thoughts that started to throb behind Donghyuck's eyes. He propped himself up against the headboard of the bed, clutching his chest in an attempt to control his heart beat. Three blinks was all it took for reality to hit like a filter being ripped away from his eyes, leaving Donghyuck gasping for air. The questions about Mark, Jaehyun's drug, Johnny's look of guilt whenever the warlock would reach for the ginger, the painting, those eyes.

_Something is wrong. I don't understand. What the hell am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to get out of this?_

The ginger thought back to Mark, his calf tingling as he remembered his escape through the window.

_I found a way then, I can find a way now._

Except this time was different. This time, he had no idea how to get around the building, he hadn't seen any exits, and no one here was on his side. Although, no one was really on his side at Mark's house either.

_What if they aren't lying?_

A sudden frustration washed over him, shoving his anxiety to the back of his throat not even for a second, before it rushed back over his tongue. He couldn't do this alone, that he knew, but the only person he could think to ask for help is the tall werewolf close to Jaehyun, even if he let the warlock bewitch him. He needed to talk to Johnny about _everything_. The werewolf was the most sane person here, Donghyuck was sure of it, based on the sympathy he saw when he met his eyes. The boy nodded, a confirmation. He knew it was a long shot, _god_ he knew, but he refused to go through another oddly comfortable, abusive day.

Donghyuck violently scrubbed his eyes and huffed, sliding off of Johnny's bed to once again roam the halls. As he skulked around, he noticed that he felt significantly less comfortable without Johnny—or Jaehyun— around him. The air was very metallic, not like what you would think a stone hallway should smell like, and without the idle chatter that company brought the red head could hear his footsteps faintly echoing off of the walls. He felt small, and exposed.

Straining his brain for directions, Donghyuck managed to get himself completely, and utterly, lost, but as he walked further he could hear faint, excited voices. They were quite far, but from here he could recognize Johnny's voice, so his slow steps continued, less hesitant than before...

...Until Donghyuck heard his name, and he came to a complete stop. It's weird, knowing that strangers are talking about you behind your back, and as Donghyuck crept forward to pick out more of the conversation, the sensation grew.

"...walked right into our arms! This is _so_ much easier than I thought it would b—“

"Jaehyun, he's only one of the three. We need the other two in order to do anything."

"That's not true," To hear Jisung talk was foreign, especially compared to the familiar tones of the warlock and werewolve's voices. "The circlet works just fine when it's dried." He paused. "I think."

"See? It's fine. Plus, it wouldn't be that hard to stall even if that's not the case. He's very—"

Johnny sounded...guilty? Donghyuck didn't find himself feeling surprised. "I don't think we should do this." And apparently that was the most controversial thing he could've ever said because both Jisung and Jaehyun sucked in air like they had been holding their breath.

"You can't possibly mean that. You know what we have to do. You said you could do it," The warlock started to sound weird, pissed off. "So why can't you all of the sudden?"

"He's really sweet. That fucking witch put him through the wringer, he doesn't need any more of that so soon. You shouldn't want to speed this process up just because you got your feelings hurt for _violating_ him. Stuff like this needs to be approached methodically and carefully, or else mistakes will be made."

Cold, honey filled laughs. "I warned you about the unfortunate side effects of this job. We all have to play our part in order to get this done, including you."

"Jaehyun, please, let's jus—“ Johnny cut off abruptly, and said something in a tone too low for Donghyuck to hear.

_Fuck. He can smell me._

Donghyuck felt heat rise from his stomach, his chest filling with heavy panic. All of the questions hidden in his cheeks for Johnny were instantly gone, melting into the horrible taste of bile that told Donghyuck a panic attack was threatening to take over.

_I need to lie. I need to act like I didn't hear them._

He shoves his best customer service expression on his face. Not quite a smile, but one of perfect, polite complacency. The one he gave Mark after he asked about that _dumb-ass_ plant. He needed to look lost, and happy to see them, and needed to act _pliant_ , because whatever they were talking about seemed awfully in-depth considering what they knew about him. What they _should_ know about him.

When he saw Johnny's figure emerge from around a corner up ahead, the man wore a worried expression, unlike the stony 'he knows too much' look that the red head expected.

"Donghyuck?"

Said boy was twisting his hands behind his back, sweating.

"Oh, thank god." Johnny tilted his head, his posture sagging with obvious relief as the younger spoke. "I couldn't sleep, and I thought I was boned. I couldn't find you guys." He paused for effect, padding softly up to the werewolf and looping an arm through his. "I was looking for you."

"Well, you found me!" The man smiled, and Donghyuck really hoped it was a real one because whatever they had been talking about scared him, and the thought that Johnny might actuallly be in his corner was threatening to catch on the boys breath. That was ruined in seconds, because Johnny looked at him with meaning in his eyes.

_He knows. He knows I heard it._

"Let's go in and see Jaehyun, hmm?"

Donghyuck shook his head, opening his mouth with eyebrows upturned and quickening breaths. "Johnny, please, you gotta-" he started to whisper, but the werewolf next to him nodded, mouthing something that looked an awful lot like ' _Distract them_ ', and Donghyuck couldn't tell if it actually happened or not because of how quickly the man had that happy go lucky smile of his plastered back onto his face. Nonetheless, there was hope.

"Come on." The tall man turned, leading Donghyuck into the room that he had emerged from.

The poor boy couldn't even make it through the door.

_What the fuck?_

It was small, and metallic, with three large shelves enclosed in glass on each wall and a large autopsy table right in the center. Jisung was standing next to it, his hands hovering over a small side table cluttered with small scalpels and bloody tissues. When he took another step in, he had a full view of the contents of the shelves.

He could only describe them as _medieval_. Each item was somewhat simple, not made of sleek metal or steel, but made of a strange wood and hand forged iron combo. Some were even made of bone. Each barbaric tool had an item tag, and Donghyuck has clearly never once won the battle between his curiosity and his logic because he stepped right up to the first cabinet and read each tag with morbid fascination.

**Cannibal fork:** _A wooden rod with three long, sharp prongs to effectively break skin. Little hooks on the end to hold flesh._

**Amputation knife:** _A curved blade to make circular incisions in the skin, making way for an amputation saw._

**Amputation saw:** _A strong, yet thin, saw to easily cut through bone._

**Artificial leech:** _A small metal cylinder with sharp needles at the end that is used in bloodletting. The push pad at the back of the object activates a single turn of the needles, so the user must continuously press said pad to draw a circle of blood, while the cylinder becomes a vacuum._

**Circumcision knife:** _A ritual circumcision knife that was used for many different religious and medical reasons. Richly decorated handle, extremely sharp triangle blade._

**Scarificator:** _A small metal knob with spring loaded blades. The blades cut into the skin, then a special heated glass cup would be put over it to speedily extract blood._

**Lancets:** _Small, thin knives meant to cut into veins for bloodletting practices._

There were too many more for Donghyuck to stomach, so he moved on. The second cabinet seemed much more tame, filled to the brim with old fashioned bottles of medication.

**Fox glove.**

**Nitric acid.**

**Hemlock tincture.**

**Amytal.**

**Sendol.**

**Chocolate flavored laxatives.**

**Cheracol.**

As he moved along, each tag had more ' _Caution! Poison!_ ' warnings than the last.

Before he could move on the the third cabinet, which, at a glance, was filled with things that were on fire or frozen or _looking at him_ , someone tapped his shoulder. "Welcome to my work room!" Jisung chirped awkwardly, his voice cracking a little.

The ginger was speechless, and when he turned around to face the boy, he saw the retreating figures of Johnny and Jaehyun, the warlock slinging an arm around the other as they left.

_Well that's just great._

"How do you stay around these things all day?! It's kinda scary..." Donghyuck muttered to him, not bothering to return the greeting. "What kind of job even _needs_ these kind of things?!"

Jisung snorted a little. "We have a local doctor, but he lives quite far from here, so often times we have to take care of our injuries at home."

Donghyuck frowned. "Do you guys often get injured?"

"Often enough." With Jisung's tone alone, Donghyuck could pretty much see ' _this conversation is over_ ' written on the sorcerer's forehead.

He shuffled over to the cabinet with the tools in them, moving through them as if looking for a specific one. "It's not scary! I'll show you." From the way the boy's voice wavered, Donghyuck can tell he was wearing an excited smile.

When the boy was looking at him again, he was holding one of the tools Donghyuck hadn't read about, and, without thinking twice, the ginger began to shake his head. "No, no that's ok. I believe you, it's ok." He was tasting bile again, his eyes latched to where the boy's large hands attached to the handle of some sort of huge needle, with a long, thin blade.

"Pull your pants down."

Donghyuck could've screamed, his voice filled with razor sharp barbs when he spoke. " _Jisung, I—_ "

But he couldn't finish his heated refusal because the boy in front of him had started to laugh, short breaths huffing out of his mouth. "I'm just kidding, don't worry."

Donghyuck didn't laugh, because he had a strong feeling that something else was coming.

"However," Donghyuck scoffed quietly. "I _do_ need you to lay down on the table, please."

"Jisung, with all do respect, why would I do that?" The ginger had started sweating again, as if the horrible taste in his mouth wasn't enough.

"Before you got here, you were with Mark, correct?"

The boy nodded.

"He's an unpredictable witch, as you may have noticed, and we think he might've done something to you on a deeper level. Like, biologically." The sorcerer spoke smartly, seriously, and he gestured to the table with kind eyes.

"I don't think he did. He's not that kind of person." Donghyuck had his doubts, _serious_ doubts, especially after eating and drinking all that stuff he's never heard of, but he was willing to believe it in order to get out of being tested with whatever Jisung had on that god forsaken cabinet.

"Donghyuck," he sighed heavily, as if he was disappointed. "This isn't really a choice. You _need_ to get tested. Not only for your sake, but for everyone else's. Mine," he turned back to the shelf, placing down the needle. "Jaehyun's," he adjusted it, nodding sharply when satisfied, and began to reach for another item. "Johnny's." He finished, turning around without a smile. Johnny's name had special emphasis, like an untold secret. It seems like his trust towards Johnny hadn't gone unnoticed.

_He knows. He knows that Johnny was gonna help me. Does Jaehyun?_

Donghyuck couldn't think about it for long, because he realized the boy had a device in each hand, one looking a lot more threatening than the other. In his left were three lancets, and in his right was a long blade, as if one of the lancets had been super-sized. It was the circumcision knife. He gestured to the table.

_Oh. Oh hell no._

"What the fuck is that for?!"

Jisung clicked his tongue, frowning. "Language." He placed the tools on his little side table, gesturing once again to the bench.

"You didn't answer my question." Donghyuck was willing his voice not to shake, trying to keep level headed.

"It's in preparation for what I'll need to do if anything comes out of your body." The boy shrugged one shoulder, like it made perfect sense. "Y'know, like a manifestation of a curse, or a parasite, or a plant. Who knows, honestly. He's a piece of work." Jisung practically sang the last part, clearly satisfied with his explanations.

Donghyuck had his mouth open, his eyebrows scrunching together and his head tilting to the side in pure, violent incredulity. "So if something comes out of me you're going to cut up my dick?! I think the fuck not."

Jisung chuckled at the boy's words, but he obviously wasn't amused. "No, dummy. It's to detach it from you. It's good for cutting flesh, and whatever comes out, _if_ anything comes out, will most likely be fleshy."

"What did he ever do to you guys for you to hate him like this. Like, I know he can be a huge dick, but even I don't dislike him to the extent of thinking he would _put_ something inside me." Donghyuck's hands were clenching and unclenching underneath the long sleeves of Mark's hoodie, fighting the urge to throw his hands out in exasperation. They were all acting like children.

"Like I said, he's unpredictable. Not only as a person emotionally, but as a witch spiritually. He has no control over his powers, and there's little he can do to help it."

"How do you even know that? When did _you_ know him?"

"Jaehyun told me about him, but he should be _glad_ I've never met him. He's done unspeakable things that I'd punish him for in a heartbeat. We don't _just_ hate him though. He has something we want." Jisung used that ' _don't ask anymore_ ' tone, but this time, Donghyuck didn't listen.

_Never thought I'd see the day where I defended Mark the witch._

"What could he possibly have done that's so bad? Again, he's a dick, but ' _unspeakable_ ' is such a stretch."

"I _said_ it's not just-"

"So you guys are throwing a tantrum because he didn't give you something you _wanted_?!"

Jisung did _not_ like that, opening his mouth to spit out a threat.

"Donghyuck, don't do this, don't ask about it anymore. Don't get yourself involved in something you won't be able to get out of." And once those words flew out at the ginger, things started slotting together like puzzle pieces.

_Mark was nothing like these people._

He snapped his head up to look at the boy, and in his confidence, took a threatening step forward.

"You wanna know something? I've heard one too many people tell me that, then proceed to suck me into whatever they want me out of. Something tells me I'm already part of whatever shit show you want me to shut up about, so-"

Jisung chuckled, shaking his head. "You have no _earthly_ idea what you're talki—"

" _Don't interrupt me, you black blooded, demon dick sucker._ " Donghyuck shrieked, taking another step forward. His hips were pressing against the cold table as he got as close as possible, an accusing finger pointed at the boy, and he shoved both of the sweatshirt sleeves up his arms heatedly. "I don't give a _shit_ about what you _think_ I know."

_Lie_.

"I'm not scared of you,"

_Lie_.

"or your _fucked_ up friends,"

_Lie_.

"and I can assure you that what Mark can do to get you whatever you need to release that _monster_ from that painting, _can't_ be done through me. I have _no_ ties to him, and you'd never be able to get close to him anyway, judging by the collective intelligence in this _god forsaken_ building." He took in a deep breath, his eyes rolling as he let it hiss through his nose. "I'm sure Jaehyun will let you give him a nice kiss on the ass now that you at least _tried_ to fuck with me, so before you try to fuck this up anymore than you already have, I'm leaving—"

Donghyuck wished he had shut his mouth, he wished he had at _least_ stayed where he was before, and he had wished too late, because Jisung had the sharp blade by the handle and was lunging at him with a snarl from across the table. Donghyuck sucked in a breath that tore itself down his throat, too surprised to scream, as it caught on his forearm, slicing shallowly into the meaty part near his elbow. He recoiled, seeing a jar or two smash on the floor as he slammed himself against that third mystery shelf.

Jisung was doubled over, a breathy laugh huffing out of him uncontrollably. He must've been laughing to the point of tears, because when he lifted his head back up, there was a black streak of liquid running down his face.

Donghyuck was too preoccupied to notice. " _WHAT THE FUCK!?_ " He was clutching his wrist, watching small beads of blood pool out of the cut. It wasn't deep, and the small streams didnt flow far, but it _hurt_ , and when he looked back up at the sorcerer, he found him smiling right back.

"Something about you," he giggled, beginning to take painfully slow steps around the table towards Donghyuck. "Told me that you would be the talkative type, but good _lord_. Who raised you? To speak to someone like that who took you in." He clicked his tongue, clearly disappointed. He feigned shock, pressing a hand to his chest and shooting his eyes wide with a shake of his head. "Oh, me? Goodness, no. I'm talking about Jaehyun. All he was trying to do was make you feel safe. It's a shame it had to be done this way. After all-"

Frankly, Donghyuck didn't want to hear him talk anymore, so he charged the boy, dodging the table by a hair. It really was a shame, like Jisung said, because he _almost_ made it. _Almost_ , but before he could, Jisung had raised the blade to his tongue, and _licked it_. There was nothing on it, as Donghyuck first thought, but he knew he was wrong. Maybe it was in the way his body locked up, or maybe it was just his common sense, but either way, Donghyuck knew Jisung had his blood in his dirty mouth, now and the ginger couldn't move.

"You almost had me there." The blank, coloring book eyes filled his vision, as if they were sucking him in. All of the sudden, Donghyuck was on the autopsy table, and Jisung was smiling giddily. "I like it, how feisty you are. It really is a shame." The blade was still in his hand, and Donghyuck tensed.

And tensed, and tensed, but nothing happened. His body was goo, as if he was a puppet. His breaths caught on nothing, struggling to inhale and exhale without his chest moving up to make room, and despite every promise he's made to himself, he could feel painful, bottom of the barrel tears lining his eyes. He tried to flail, he tried to struggle, but nothing happened.

_Claustrophobic. It's too claustrophobic. I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I ca—_

"—n't breathe. I can't breathe, please, I can't move. What the _fuck_ did you do to me? I swear to _fuck_ —" Donghyuck couldn't say anything louder than a whisper, not at first, but the sorcerer leaned down to pinch his cheek and all of the sudden the world was his audience, and he was the speaker.

"— _ING GOD, WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING!?_ " It was past logic. Donghyuck didn't have time to think, or any space, because his adrenaline was shoving everything out of the way to go against his better judgment to scream and cry for...

" _...HELP! HELP ME! PLEASE, HELP! HELP!_ "

He was being pet, he thought, and his sore cries died down so he could focus on moving his eyes. They landed on beautiful, boney white ram horns, surrounded with a line of red that fell to beautiful eyelids that hooded over beautiful, pure black eyes. Jaehyun leaned down, placing a kiss on the ginger's nose.

"My poor baby. It wasn't supposed to happen this way." He sounded genuinely disappointed, as if he were holding back from chastising the paralyzed boy. "You weren't supposed to feel scared. If you had just let me take care of you—"

" _Never_." Donghyuck was done. He knew he was done. He knew he was going to die, he did, so why stay scared? For all he knew, it could've _all_ been a lie. Jeno _could_ be dead, Mark _could've_ been a murderer, and these people were the icing on the cake. He chanted this, over and over, because if he had nothing to go back to, he wouldn't have anything to lose. He wouldn't have anything to miss. So, when Jaehyun's perfect eyebrow raised above the other, Donghyuck swallowed _real_ hard, and said it again. "NEVER!"

Jisung popped a head out from behind the man, the vomit-worthy admiration in his eyes curdling into a crazed shock as they snapped from the warlock to the human. "You _dare_ talk to Jaehyun like that?!" The boy spat, his voice contorting as he held a hand out in front of him. A _new_ blade flew through the air, narrowly missing Jaehyun's cheek, and landed snugly in Jisung's huge palm.

Then right into Donghyuck's wrist as the black blooded boy slammed it downwards as if it would cleanse hell of all sin.

Donghyuck had read in books that when you feel a lot of pain you saw white, or heard a ring in your ear, but apparently when you're paralyzed by magic, those don't happen, because all he felt, saw, and heard was an icy pain. He felt it shooting up his arm, throat, the backs of his knees, the base of his skull, and he _screamed_. It didn't bubble, it exploded, ripping through his chest with everything he could muster. The blade was raised, and Donghyuck's head snapped over to Jaehyun, who grinned at him and hovered a hand over his head. "You want me to touch you?"

Donghyuck was shaking, his entire body was trembling, except it wasn't, because he felt heavy, like syrup was replacing his lost vitals. He wanted to scream again, because he was _begging_ to be held, and he it wasn't right or safe but he was still begging. And Jaehyun only giggled. _He only giggled._

"Okay, honey, alright." Donghyuck wasn't _Donghyuck_ anymore, standing at his own body's feet while also laying on the metal table in front of him. He watched the way Jisung held the bloody blade with one white knuckled hand, pointing a finger to the Donghyuck off of the table with the other. He also watched how Jaehyun cooed at the paralyzed boy's fucked up, dopey smile, the one that oozed across his face slowly as the warlock agreed, but didn't comply. "First, you gotta look at it." He finished gently, kindly, and the outside Donghyuck screamed no, _no_ , because he couldn't handle how he could see his own bone and severed veins, and he _hated_ how his once tan skin was painted red with its own blood. His physical body's reaction was even worse. When the poor thing drooped to the side to set his eyes on it, his face contorted into a dry sob, shooting back over to Jaehyun with nothing but desperate pliancy. Donghyuck watched without tears, shaking, taking useless, invisible steps towards Jisung until the coloring book eyes snapped over to meet his own, and the sorcerer brought down the blade once again. The torturous boy pulled, slicing instead of chopping, and suddenly the ginger was one person again, another scream tearing through him. He understood why they always said they 'saw white', his own vision blurring and distorting. Jaehyun placed another kiss on his sweaty temple, and everything snapped in front of him, his surroundings in high definition. Apart from his body, nothing felt heavy anymore, and he could finally think something other than, "Jaehyun-Jaehyun-Jaehyun-Jaehyun."

The first thing he did was scream again, forcing it out if his lungs as if it were poison, because if he was going to die he wanted to know the reason, and he couldn't talk if he was screaming. Jaehyun purred. "Do you understand now? What I can do for you? How _good_ I can make you feel. How _bad_ —" He placed a finger straight into one of the missing chunks of flesh, and Donghyuck violently dry heaved. "—I can make you feel."

The ginger didn't respond, trying not to gag again when he looked at Jisung as the boy gladly stuck the warlock's bloody finger in his mouth and _sucked_. As he did, the blood pouring from him started to float, leaving sticky orange stains on his skin. It was very bubbly, the dark red globs merging together and splitting back up as they swirled around Jisung's tall, thin figure lazily.

They were moving now, Donghyuck could barely tell, through the maze of hallways. Something struck his face and he let out a pathetic noise, turning to see Jaehyun's angry black eyes. "Answer me, Sunshine." An explosion, although faint, made Donghyuck see startled stars. The warlock hummed approvingly, his gaze flitting down a different hallway before they returned back to him.

"That'll be Johnny, then."

Donghyuck grit his teeth, fighting to keep his eyes open, trying to stay conscious. He didn't like how Jaehyun said it. He said it like he had accomplished something important, and Donghyuck _didn't like it_. The name flashed hot across his mind, taking over every order he had given his body to yell.

" _JOHNNY!_ "

Jaehyun snapped his fingers furiously at Jisung, who had been pushing the table, and in second the boy was on the uninjured side of Donghyuck, smiling politely as he stuck a lancet into the crook of the ginger's elbow.

"There's no use calling out for that oaf. He went soft, so we had to dispose of him." The guy scoffed, and Jisung did too, as if it were the most amusing thing he had ever heard. "Can you believe it? He started to feel bad for you. No offense or anything, you're an absolute doll, but when he and I first met, he was about ready to tear into any human on sight."

"Dis—pos—?" Donghyuck couldn't even tell if he was saying anything at all, his lips feeling numb. Jaehyun seemed to get it.

"Baby, we killed him. Sicheng just shot him in the head. It’s okay, you don’t need to think about it. He was a necessary casualty." 

_What— the fuck. What is wrong with these people. They're barbaric. Nothing about what Mark told me warned me about this. They fucking killed Johnny. They killed Johnny and no one even blinked._

Blood sloshed, Donghyuck tasted bile. In seconds he was sent into panic once again, the shock and adrenaline withering away. " _Why are you doing this to me?! Why me?! What did I do?! I'm nobody! I mean nothing!_ " His voice was limited, now, his words sloppy and whiney.

"Oh, Donghyuckie, no. You're one of the most important people in the whole wide world." Jaehyun spoke dreamily, sincerely. "You also have something that we want. Can you take a wild guess at what that might be? Can ya'?" He was mocking him now, but Donghyuck couldn't answer anyway, his head too loud and too quiet.

_It's supposed to feel more calm than this, I thought. I wonder if they're sending me to hell. I wonder if I can see Jeno before I go. I wonder if Mark really is a murderer. I hope not. I don't want to spend burning eternity with him._

There was a loud bang, and new shouts filled the room.

"Good job, Renjun!"

"Jaemin, shut the fuck up and do your job. Now's not the time."

"Fine, fine, Jesus christ."

Donghyuck felt cold, and weightless, his vision fading and clearing and fading and clearing.

"Jaemin, now!" This voice in particular had come from right above him, and when the boy focused all of his energy on opening his eyelids, he realized he wasn't on the table anymore. He was standing several feet away, held by pale, cold arms, taking in the scene before him with stuttering consciousness. The only thing really holding his attention together was the fact that he was in a large room that he had never been in before. The blood that had been floating around Jisung was gone, splattered on the floor as a small curve, like part of a circle, with strange symbols that reminded the boy of Jisung's hands. Something was familiar about it, but Donghyuck was struggling to keep one eye open, and a sudden blast of blue and gold water took hold of his remaining attention.

He was lucid enough to realize that it wasn't an explosion, but a _wave_. It was a giant, blue and gold tidal wave inside of the not-so-giant room, and it was going to crash directly on top of the warlock and sorcerer that had been torturing him moments ago.

"HEY, BIG BROTHER! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, ASSHOLE." And with that, Donghyuck was suddenly standing next to a boy with tiger stripes and a loud mouth, along with another boy pressed against the wall, right as the wave crashed. It was deafening, and Donghyuck was _definitely_ still bleeding, so he let himself go limp, focusing on breathing so he could _at LEAST_ go peacefully. More peaceful than he would've back there.

He heard a loud whoosh, much like Jaehyun's portal, and suddenly everything was quiet, two sharp gasps and the soft pitter patter of rain whispering for Donghyuck to let himself go. He had one last thought, and despite what memories were attached to it, it made him feel warm.

_It smells like honeysuckles._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally supposed to be combined with chapter thirteen, but I had to cut it in halve since it was getting too long....and now this chapter is super long too lol. I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to comment, I love to respond.


	15. Two Boys at Their Limit

When Donghyuck's eyes cracked open, he was dead.

At least, he thought he was. All he saw was white, framed with black, and he saw that the baggy black clothes that clung to his body were stark against the bright white sheets under him in the corner of his eye. His vision was geometric, an explosion of black and white shapes, until his aching eyes gradually began to focus. The white above him was a canopy, the frame of black a series of dark, wooden support beams to hold it up. He was indeed on a bed, his body sinking further into the plush mattress as he tried to wiggle around.

_Is it normal to forget everything after death? At least I know my name._

Donghyuck hummed with thought, the noise coming out rough, trying to remember how he had passed.

"Donghyuck?"

Said boy jumped, feeling an odd tingling in his arms as he snapped his head to the side.

Golden brown hair, sharp features, kind eyes— A pretty stranger.

Anxiety pooled in his stomach, his guard shooting into place. Something about the words 'pretty stranger' made him want to throw up.

"How do you feel? Do you need anything?" The man beside him had a gentle voice, caution hiding behind it. He spoke as if Donghyuck were a time bomb, and one wrong word would make him explode.

Questions flooded his brain, leaking into his mouth, but the boy found himself struggling to ask them, his throat a desert. So, he started small. "Are you god?"

He grinned prettily. "No, Donghyuck. Not even close."

Donghyuck frowned. "Am I going to hell, then?" His throat was burning.

"No."

"Who are you?"

"Taeyong."

"Why am I here?"

"You were in a very scary situation, and I, as well as some others, helped you out of it."

"I'm not dead?"

The brunette looked horrified at the idea, a tremendous amount if sorrow taking over his eyes, and he shook his head quickly. "No, no, you're alive. You're okay." Donghyuck didn't feel anything at the revelation, except a very faint feeling of disappointment, which didn't notice it, at the time, as if someone was hiding it from him.

There was rain, thrumming softly against the windows he hadn't noticed before. "Where am I?" His poor voice was getting harder and harder to make out, cracking and crumbling as the questions kept coming.

Taeyong reached forward to run cold fingers through the boy's fiery locks, which made Donghyuck recoil hard enough to send painful sparks up his forearms. He grimaced at the pain as he jerked away, scrambling across the large mattress until he was no longer in range of the pale hands. Something hidden right beneath his consciousness screamed at him, begging Donghyuck to never let anyone touch him again, but as soon as he noticed it was there, it was gone.

Taeyong frowned, and sadness filled his eyes, but he didn't comment on it. "That's enough questions. I have a lot to tell you. Just listen." He said kindly, drawing his outstretched arm back to his chest. "Jeno was here when you arrived, but for your safety he had to be sent off with a friend of mine to finish some business."

The name triggered a flood, years and years worth of memories cascading down upon him as the word slipped through Taeyong's thin lips. One in particular stuck out to him.

" _Donghyuck could see he wasn't moving, he could see the blood that was still flowing from the multiple holes in his neck, he could see his gaping mouth, his frozen, panicked expression, but he still called out to him._ "

Donghyuck sucked in a broken breath, a dry sob rattling its way out. "Whe— Can I—? Is he—? Please—" he wheezed, his words turning to rough coughs. He felt the world spin, and stuffed his fingers into the sheets in an attempt to ground himself.

Taeyong hushed him, hesitating to reach out again before deciding against it. "He's okay. You can see him in a day or two, I promise. Now, onto what happened, and how you got here."

As the man next to him continued to explain, beating around the bush with a lot of the gory details, more memories crashed into him.

He saw Jaehyun first, followed by a slideshow of his friends.

" _There was a man standing in front of the exit, one who had large, boney horns on his head that resembled a ram's._ "

He then saw Johnny, and remembered a bang—

" _He was tall, at least a foot taller than himself, and he kinda smelled like a cinnamon bun._ "

" _An explosion, although faint, made Donghyuck see startled stars. The warlock hummed approvingly, his gaze flitting down a different hallway before they returned back to him._

_"That'll be Johnny, then."_

—and Jisung, in a room with tools and medicine.

_"Jisung clicked his tongue, frowning. "Language." He placed the tools on his little side table, gesturing once again to the bench."_

He saw a painting, taunting him through fuzz.

" _Donghyuck opened his mouth, his tongue anxious, trying to form the words to call out for Johnny, but the mass of smoke in the middle of the oil painting had two large, golden eyes, and it made his stomach squeeze painfully._ "

He saw Mark.

" _As the witch spoke, the plants hanging above his head twitched to life. Green stems grew down towards Mark's messy black hair, curling over his ears and down to his shoulders. There were leaves and honeysuckles rapidly growing on the stems, sprouting with small puffs of pollen that landed on the side of the witch's face and on his hair and he was glowing. He was glowing and Donghyuck wanted to destroy everything about it because it made Mark look unquestionably stunning and magical and Donghyuck hated how "holier than thou" it was._ "

The poor ginger was overwhelmed, his chest heaving by the time Taeyong had finished catching Donghyuck up. The only thing left unsaid was the fact that the boy was physically tortured, drugged, and had massive wounds on his arms hidden under bandages, but that was for a later hour.

—————

Donghyuck didn't know where the time went, his mind going numb from overstimulation. Whatever happened between his conversation with Taeyong and his attention honing in on feline eyes in front of his nose was beyond him, and he couldn't muster enough energy within him to care.

"Is he gonna be okay?" The owner of the eyes asked, and as his face came more into focus Donghyuck recognized him as the tiger-striped loud mouth who had come to his rescue.

"He's going to be fine, but only if you back off. You smell like low-tide." Another voice sounded from next to him, soft but strong. He didn't have it in him to turn and look, his head barely wrapping around the strange tingling in his wrists. There was silent murmuring, between a vaguely familiar voice behind him and the tiger boy, and suddenly there was a mug in front of his nose that smelled _horrible_. Familiar, but _horrible_. It was salty and warm as it trickled down his throat, and as it flowed over his dry tongue he felt his body start to melt, feeling better without even finishing the drink.

_It's the same one Mark gave me._

He was sure of it, and that only meant one thing; Mark was there. Donghyuck found himself wanting to see the flowery boy, the impulse fighting against his common sense, and as the thought crossed his mind he remembered a gray sweatshirt.

"Where is the Canada?" And that wasn't quite what he meant to say but the way the orange cat eyes on tiger boy's face lit up told him it made enough sense.

"You mean the witch?" The boy in front of him looked like he was holding back a wide smile, sending a knowing look to the third boy in the room.

"The sweatshirt." Donghyuck deadpanned. "Who _are_ you, anyway?" It seemed as if whatever Taeyong had told him was gone, shoved down into a hidden corner of his mind to huddle until it had the chance to rise, because his sarcastic tone and sharp words were back. He could feel it watching, waiting, prowling in the darkness of his mind.

"That's Jaemin," Taeyong strides into view, patting Jaemin's silver locks fondly. "And that—" he gestures to the boy beside the redhead. "Is Renjun."

They wave, respectively. Donghyuck could feel his mind getting heavy as he took them in completely, and strained out a sharp response.

"Hi." Even though he was sitting, he felt his balance waver, his head dipping to the side before he snapped it back up. The boy had to suck in a short breath, steeling himself so he could analyze the people around him.

Jaemin was fairly easy, the cat eyes and tiger scars screamed warlock, but Renjun was difficult, as was Taeyong. There wasn't much to look at, no scars, no black scorch marks. Finally, after struggling to scan each boy several times, he spotted a set of moles peeking out from underneath Taeyong's white shirt, dark against his pale skin. A vampire. He chalked up Renjun as a werewolf to save himself the trouble of investigating, he felt much too tired to look.

"The sweatshirt. I don't want Minhyung, just his sweatshirt." It felt somewhat wrong to say, but out it went. Taeyong sent him a small smile, and in no time it was in his cold hands.

—————

After the sweet vampire slipped the soft fabric over Donghyucks head, everything had seemed to go black again, his mind blank until he felt someone bringing a spoon up to his mouth. He ate, not tasting, and when he fully came to he took a look around.

  
Renjun was feeding him, a grin spreading over his face as he watched the boy in front of him wake up, and Jaemin was on his other side, an arm hanging around Donghyuck's shoulders. 

  
_Why am I being fed? I can do it my—_

It felt like time was frozen, for a moment, as the ginger felt the warmth of the warlock's arm seep into his skin, until he, in a flash, found himself standing on shaky legs a couple feet away. Whatever was being fed to him was on the floor, and the two supernatural boys were watching him with wide eyes.

"Don't _fucking_ touch me."

Black.

—————

This time, he didn't come to as gradually as he did before. He was on someone's back, and from how cold their body was it was probably the vampire, as they clambered up a set of ladders, coming to a rude awakening as he was dropped onto his feet.

Donghyuck was against a wall now, his breathing ragged. Nothing was making sense, his sarcasm gone and a wave of disoriented panic setting in to replace it.

  
_Why can't I stay awake? Who are these people? Why did they save me? Why do they have Jeno? Where am I? Why do I need help? I want to go home.  
_

He let his eyes open, slowly, until he caught sight of unruly black hair and squeezed them closed once more. Everything was quiet, Taeyong already gone and Donghyuck forcing himself to shorten his breaths. He was avoiding the green eyes that were watching him a short distance away by looking around the unfamiliar space. It was just like his room when he was a kid, posters and comic books all around the area. There was a gaming console, surrounded by beanbags, and a small bed in the center of all the mess. It looked out of place, the sheets made and clean, the frame pressed against a messy counter covered in red water bottles. As his eyes landed on the mattress he found Mark again, looking back at him passively.

Donghyuck raised his chin high, a glare settling on his features as he shoved all of his worries down once more and felt the world spin. The redheadstumbled, pressing himself further into the wall behind him.

Mark sighed, sounding exhausted, and Donghyuck flinched, tasting a shot of bile; A soon to be panic attack.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

Donghyuck scoffed, his amusement sour, but his next words came out shaky. "You've kidnapped me and knocked me out."

The witch met his eyes, allowing the ginger to findbags under them that tarnished his pale skin enough to make Donghyuck pity him. "I had orders. I felt bad, but I'm no fool. I know better than to disobey Taeyong."

Donghyuck saw another memory, a flash of green eyes in a disappearing house. "You saw me run. You could've come after me, but you didn't. Why?" The boy was finding strength in the conversation, the room around him stopping it's insistent shuttering, but he still couldn't pull himself together enough to disect everything about each sentence floating from the flower boy's mouth. He at least took a slow step towards the bed.

"I saw what direction you were going in, but I wasn't gonna put you in more danger by following you. In that town you ended up in—"

"—You're not very popular. Yeah, Johnny said the same thing." At the name, Mark's tired eyes went wide and he instantly gestured for Donghyuck to sit. Surprisingly, he did.

"You met Youngho, that's right, I forgot." There was something in the witch's eyes that Donghyuck couldn't figure out, and again he couldn't find enough energy to figure out the 'I forgot'.

"Youngho?"

"His real name." Mark nodded slowly, something clearly clicking in his head. "I assume Yoonoh was there too. Jaehyun?"

Donghyuck nodded right back. "Do you know them?"

"Everyone knows everyone, but Youngho and I— Johnny and I were good friends, a while back."

Donghyuck, any other time, would've laughed and made a snarky comment like 'You? Friends? That's rich.' Today, however, was not like any other day. He was starting to get motion sick, and he hadn't failed to notice that Mark looked like he was about to collapse. So, he didn't say anything.

"Then Jaehyun showed up, around the same time as Jaemin, and started getting in his head. He poked and prodded in all the right places, right in his trauma." Mark had stopped looking at the ginger long ago, eyes downcast to watch his fingers clasp and unclasp. He reached a hand up towards his purple, glittery face— his outfit was a deep purple and black— making Donghyuck flinch again as he waved his hand until five purple flowers floated midair and started to _grow legs_. Their little bodies were thin green stems, and when they dropped onto the bed they began to frolic towards the human boy. "His parents died horribly. Seriously, it was a shit show. He saw it all. Humans, they were on a poaching mission." He sounded bitter, and tired. The flowery boy finally shifted his gaze, his eyes scanning Donghyuck's arms attentively as he reached forward and pushed a finger onto his wrist. "Jaehyun was insistent, saying a whole bunch of bullshit about how humans will never change. He's a bad seed, that one."

Donghyuck almost screamed, flying away from the bed only to collapse as the world around him started to crumble. He was sweating, he thought, because where he had been touched felt wet. It was throbbing, too, and when he started to panic about not being able to use his fingers Mark was pulling him up from the floor, excessively rough with his hands, and propping him up against the headboard.

" _Don't fucking touch me._ " Donghyuck seethed, a low whine crawling out of his throat when he tried to shove the witch away. Now they were sitting across from each other, their legs crossed, a silent battle over who would crack last— who would break the silence. Donghyuck lost.

"Also, while I'm at it, last time I checked I didn't ask for a backstory." His chest was heaving, and he almost threw up when he glanced down and saw blood. When Mark had manhandled him, his sleeves had managed to shimmy halfway up his arms, and Donghyuck had a half-hidden view of a hundred thick, brown, and bloody stitches littering his wrists. The ginger's eyes shot back up to the witch, who suddenly looked small, weak. " _What the hell did you do to me?!_ "

The boy in front of him looked like he was about to fall asleep, but a sudden crackle in his eyes seemed to wake him up. "I didn't do _shit_ to you—" his entire body shook violently, a quick loss of control, before the strange golden-green light in his eyes flickered out and he slumped over. If Donghyuck didn't know any better, he'd think that Mark was the one who had been passing out all day. "It wasn't me. It wasn't anyone here. We're all trying to help you. Believe it or not, so am I."

The tan boy shook his head slowly, that small pinprick of disappointment waltzing right back up to the forefront of his brain like an annoying parasite. It tasted bad in his mouth, like rot and worms, and he cringed, his limp fingers coming up to scrabble against his temples in an attempt of solace. "Help me from what?! From what did this to me?! Are you helping me because—" Ironically, Donghyuck had a smile on his face, albeit bitter. "It was me, wasn't it. Is that why I'm so upset?" The dissatisfaction was hitting him _hard_ , his brain not quite understanding the reason, but understanding the mood enough. "Because I was trying to kill myself? Because I failed?"

Mark's shoulders shot up, his posture correcting itself in his shock. His eyes were lifeless, the dullest shade of green that Donghyuck had ever seen, but in them he could see, clear as day, the type of pity that made you want to punch someone until they bled. "Wait, you— you want to—?" He sputtered, blinking rapidly, but never finished his sentence, and ended up staring into the human boy's eyes. When he finally did speak again, it was calm, clear, but even more tired than before. He sounded like he was barely holding on to consciousness, his usually sharp words starting to blend together, or maybe it was just the way the room spinning around Donghyuck was starting to make him see some of the posters on the walls turning their heads to look at him. "No, Donghyuck. It wasn't you. Frankly," The witch hunched back over, rubbing his hands over his face before sniffling. "It's not my position to tell you. The others can't tell you either. None of us know all of it, and I know even less since I wasn't there for the heroic 'Don't worry my sweet princess Donghyuck, I've come to carry you to safety' moment. This is all up to you to remember for yourself." _Oh_ , Donghyuck didn't like that at _all_. "You can't help me, or you _won't_?!" The witch looked back up, shaking his head silently. "Both." The boy let it go, distracted by the way the walls started to melt.

Mark's fingers twitched, and he huffed, reaching a hand underneath Donghyuck's crossed legs and dragging out a crumpled flower creature, soft whimpers trailing behind it as Mark cradled it to his chest gently. "Hey, watch where you're sitting. Your fat ass squished my flos sensitivae."

"You're the one who picked me up." Donghyuck snapped.

Mark frowned but didn't reply, bringing the cute thing up to his lips. Upon contact, the flower flourished, the once thin stems thickening an inch wider, the pretty petals sprouting further outwards to accommodate. All of the sudden, the rest of the four were limping their way towards the witch, all crawling out from underneath Donghyuck's legs. Each one stood single file, patiently waiting for their own kiss, and once he was done with them they skipped across the sheets to crowd around Donghyuck's arms.

"Talk to me." Mark cleared his throat, looking like he would rather be tripping into a pile of thorn bushes.

A tilt of his head would've sufficed, but Donghyuck dragged his eyes off of the flower creatures with a _very_ loud scoff. "Begging for my attention? That's pretty sad, especially for you, Mr. 'Humans are my subjects and I their diety'." To his surprise, the witch didn't react, not even a blink interrupted that infuriating blank stare.

"Sure, humor me. I'm doing you a favor, trust me, so just talk. Ask me a question, I know you've got plenty."

The ginger didn't even have to think twice, his temper flaring. "What the hell happened to me?"

The witch's chest heaved, and he rolled his eyes. "Pass. I don't know what to tell you, I wasn't there, I don't know."

"Fine. Jeno. Where is he? What's happening to him? Who's he with?"

"That was three questions. I'll answer one. Pick."

"What's happening to him?"

Mark nodded slowly, his hands moving in sharp patterns over his lap. Donghyuck supposed it was because of the flowers, who were beginning to tickle his wrists softly. "He's tying up some loose vampire odds and ends. Don't worry, he's safe. He's with a couple of acquaintances of mine. For the meantime, we're supposed to sleep here. It's Chenle's room."

Donghyuck frowned deeply, his eyebrows furrowing. He ignored the comment about staying in this room for the night. "That was really vague. You suck at this."

Mark grunted. "You're not the easiest to talk to, you suck at listening."

"Are you kidding me?! _I'm_ a pain to talk to?!"

The glittery witch put his still twitching hands up, a surrender. "I'm going to shut up now. We're going to kill each other at this rate before the sun rises."

"Wait, we're really stuck here? Together? We're supposed to stay in this room _together_ all night?"

The boy expected a crackle, a twitch of his nose, but the only witch responded dryly, bored. "Is that going to be a problem? Don't worry your highness, you have rights to the bed. I'll pull together the beanbags."

The boy got off of the bed, following through with his words, and when he turned back around he looked pointedly at Donghyuck's arms. "You're fucking welcome. I told you, I'm trying to fucking help you." He didn't sound angry, just mildly irritated. When Donghyuck's eyes landed on pink muscles and snapped tendons he didn't even react. The world around him shook and shivered instead, reacting for him, and suddenly Mark was on the bed again, wrapping two shaky arms around his shoulders to ground him. It took Donghyuck a moment to realize the witch had begun to talk.

"You're so dumb. Stop stressing yourself out. That's why you've been passing out all day. Jesus, fuck." He let go as if hold the boy was touching hot metal, but it almost felt like the witch had lingered a second longer than necessary.

_What the hell kind of rom-com thought was that, Donghyuck. You hate him._

"Is that why you told me to talk to you? So I wouldn't stress out?" Donghyuck shivered violently as the flower boy let go of him, relief flooding through his system.

Mark's sigh sounded hollow, and his eyes drifted downwards to once again look at the boy's arms as he nodded. Donghyuck chanced another look, too.

The flower creatures were dutifully cleaning his arms, two of them focused on each arm while one paced between the limbs. They were using their velvety purple petals to clean the wounds, rubbing them on his veins and muscles, and their small, stem arms to sew the flesh back together, needling the thin green organism through his skin like he was a patchwork doll. "I thought the stitches were all big and brown before..." The redhead mumbled, trailing off as he looked back up to watch the witch.

"They grow over a couple hours. Once they turn into bark, they have to be redone. Gangrene is a bitch to fix, so it's a sort of timer to help fight infection." Mark yawned, rubbing his eyes. "You should be able to use your fingers in the morning. The tendons are scheduled to grow back overnight." He held out two hands, and the flowers skipped over to him with no hesitation. He brought them each up to his lips again, but this time when they touched his lips, they withered and died with a scared wail. Even so, the flowers stood in line, trembling, until each and every one of them were crumbling between the witch's shaking fingers.

Donghyuck watched in silent horror. " _You're a monster._ " He whispered.

Mark didn't respond, he instead got off of the bed and flicked off the lights, pacing over to where the bean bags were clumped together on the floor. "Get some rest."

And after that, Donghyuck was staring off into the darkness of the room wondering if he wasn't the only one who had been fucked with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. This took a while because I lowkey suck at recovery/comfort type writing. If you have any questions or find any errors feel free to tell me.
> 
> (Edit: I was fixing some missing italics, sorry)


	16. A Vampire’s Good Intentions

Blood.

So much blood.

It was all over Taeyong's red shirt, staining it a darker shade, all over his pale arms, dripping onto the hardwood floor of the office, and, of course, it was all over Donghyuck too. From one arm only, one that had a small stab in the crook of its elbow, there was a constant stream of blood. The wound was clearly deep enough to sever through tendons and bone, as if it was a bullet that _almost_ made it out the other side. The other arm was even worse. The main source, two large, ragged caverns in the skin, made Donghyuck's honey skin look flat and blue with blood loss. It was all over the floor, all over his lifeless arms, and splattered over his pale face. It was _everywhere_.

Taeyong dropped him. It wasn't gentle, the way the ginger's body hit the ground with a sick, wet smack. Jeno was shocked at the violence in it, because come _on_ this was Taeyong, but once his eyes found the vampire's face, and once the _smell_ reached his nose, he understood. It was like smelling the air around a bread factory, or the hundred dollar steak they sell in that one five star restaurant in the classy part of town. Jeno has never had the pleasure, and now, with his newfound distaste of human food, he never would, but this was infinitely better. Taeyong growled, low in his throat, and two sharp needles made of bone had replaced his canines. Red eyes, purple veins, deep wrinkles shot over his face as he struggled to hold himself back. Jeno saw a flash of a memory, a quick picture of the vampire that had attacked him in that cursed alleyway, but he didn't have a chance to register it before he, for the first time in his life, felt a stronger sensation of _I am starving_ than he ever thought was possible. It was rapid, like his body was eating itself faster than he could _ever_ hope to replenish.

Before Donghyuck had even ghosted the floor, Mark was by his side, leaning in close to whisper something under his breath.

One step was all it took. It was an accident, a snarl ripping out of Jeno's lips as he took that single step forward, but it was obviously one too many. Two things told him this, the first being Taeyong. He was in Jeno's face before he could breathe, shoving him into the desk hard enough to send a spark up his lifeless spine. 

His voice was a sort of growl, the desperation of a hungry man making the words rough and thick. " _He's mine._ "

Jeno didn't have room to analyze, he only had the deafening noise of desire pounding in his head and the garbled shriek that left his tongue sizzling as he lunged at his unexpected rival.

In seconds Jeno was on the ground, pinned by a vampire who was already looking at his main target: Donghyuck.

It was too quick to keep track of, a hot moment of scrambling across the floor and watching Taeyong lunge towards his meal before Jeno found himself pinned against a bookcase. Oh, what a single step will do.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME YOU GLUTTONOUS BASTARDS OR SO HELP ME _GOD_!" Mark's voice boomed around the small room as he spun around on his knees. His pupils were barely visible, the golden-green light in his eyes brighter than Jeno had ever seen, and from where his legs touched the ground, vines started to spread across the floor, small buds growing into man sized ones. In no time there were about twenty human sized venus fly traps snapping towards each vampire with a hunger to match. "ONE MORE STEP TOWARDS DONGHYUCK AND I WILL MAKE SURE YOU LOSE A LIMB." The witch reached a hand out to pat one of his plants on its leaves, right next to its spiky teeth, before turning back around to attend to the bleeding boy.

Jaemin and Renjun were standing in shock, too afraid to try and hold back the vampires, equally afraid of trying to help Mark. It seemed like an eternity before the witch had finally left the room with Donghyuck in his arms, and Jeno was just about to take a reckless 'I'm going after my meal' step forward before a flytrap snapped at him and he was instantly back against the shelf again. Jaemin was holding his hands out calmly from the doorway, the blood on the ground drifting up in sick bubbles to float around above his head. The werewolf on the other hand, was gone. The warlock had murmured some soft words before he had sent him on his way, and in no time the beta was back with a jar of black liquid and what looked like a deep-fried piranha.

Soon enough, scalding liquid was forced down Jeno's throat by tiger scarred hands and instantly heaving itself back up, navy blue splatters of steamy goo coloring the cool tiles beneath him.

"Well, I suppose not everyone can handle it." Jaemin observed from above the retching vampire, letting out a faint, interested huff.

Jeno was out of it, hearing muffled, panicked words from Taeyong, until a _very_ out of breath Mark shoving a _very_ pissed Doyoung through the double doors of the office snapped his scattered attention back to the room. The witch looked rabid, his ragged breathing the sort of angry that left you empty, and when he pushed the monochrome bloodsucker hard enough to have him trip over one of the collapsed flytraps, he was given an unsurprisingly malicious look.

After dry heaving for the fifth time, a poor attempt to get the revolting taste of that navy liquid out of his mouth, Jeno finally had the chance to look around the room with unimpaired eyes. He no longer felt hungry, not in the way he was before, so he was able to absorb the scenery easily enough. From where Donghyuck, and only now the overwhelming guilt of trying to eat his best friend was setting in, had collapsed and Mark had sat, you could see a large crack in the tiles where the now browning venus vines had erupted from the earth underneath the water pipes and power tracks. The thick vines shot outwards, mapping the floor of the room in a large grid fashion, and one of them just so happened to sprout directly through the large oak desk. Another vine had managed to wiggle itself underneath the cushions of the loveseat and sprout a man-sized flytrap from between them.

Mark was flowerless, the honeysuckles that had exploded away from him in his outburst on the ground around the room, and all of his glitter was nearly gone. His usually unruly hair was damp with sweat and sticking to his forehead in thick, droopy curls, coiling over his eyes and ears and the nape of his neck instead of congregating higher up on the crown of his head. The witch's eyes were dark, his eyebrows scrunched together to make a deep crease between them, and he was sending looks that could kill at both of the vampires at fault. "Get your stupid leeches under control." It came out as a threat, and Jeno would've believed it if only the witch didn't look like his knees were about to buckle.

Doyoung scoffed, a mix between amused and incredulity. "Watch your tone. I may not be as old as Taeyong, but I can still beat your ass a thousand times past Tuesday for talking about them like that."

The vampire sent looks to the accused, scrunching his nose when his eyes landed on the gloopy substance dribbling down Jeno's chin. "I see you've tried Jaemin's special concoction." He sent a pointed look at Taeyong, who started to shake his head violently in disagreement to something unsaid, and when his eyes landed back on the witch, he scowled. "If you ever pull shit like this again, I'll hurt you. Half of the stuff in this room means more to the world than you'll ever know. Plus, you broke my fucking desk."

Jeno tilted his head to get a better view of Doyoung, attempting to look for a joke in the vampire's eyes, but he only found a scarily calm gaze. Mark, on the other hand, dropped his jaw and spread his arms in disbelief. "Are you being serious right now?" Doyoung didn't respond, but a slow, exasperated frown began to grow on his face. "You're getting pissed at _me_?!" His arms flew to the side, gesturing to the two vampires on the floor behind Doyoung. "You told me to protect your precious cargo, so I did. You should be pissed at your stupid fucking rats over there."

Doyoung sent a slow gaze around the room once more, sighing. "You were never quick to hurt Taeyong. Why now?" Mark squinted. "Are you slow? He was trying to eat the human. I may have a distaste for them, but I'm not heartless. Dying by vampire is one of the worst ways to go."

"Is that all?"

Jeno frowned after the words left Doyoung's mouth, his eyes darting to Mark.

"What are you suggesting?" Mark cocked his head to the side, suspicion written all over his face. "Where is all of this coming from? Do we have a problem?"

Taeyong cleared his throat, but Doyoung waved a hand to silence him. "You almost killed the both of them over some human? That sounds wrong, no? One day you dislike Donghyuck enough knock him out instead of talk to him, and now you're almost killing you're friends over him?"

The witch was beginning to bristle, irritated from the constant prods. " _You_ are the one who made me watch him. _YOU_ are the one who was upset at me when he ran. Only _now_ you're angry at me for protecting him?" The telltale spark of gold, the faint glow in his eyes. There weren't any honeysuckles, the sweet smell that usually filled Jeno's nose replaced by the strong scent of fresh earth slamming his senses. The tips of the boy's fingers twitched, his chest jerking one, two, three times to start a domino effect of new vines. The brown ones skewed on the floor began to shiver, sprouting thinner tendrils that reached for the walls and slithered upwards to the ceiling.

Doyoung's eyes flitted around grimly, opening his mouth to respond, but Taeyong beat him to it. "Doyoung, this is enough."

Another wave for silence.

"Look around. Look at what you're doing. Calm down, _process_ , and try to understand where I could possibly be coming from." The vampire had his teeth clenched, honestly starting to look a bit desperate, which was completely different from his former cool and annoyed attitude. Mark clearly didn't listen, the thin green stems growing even thinner as they spread across the ceiling. There were teeny tiny bulbs popping up along the small vines, a much larger one growing over Doyoungs head.

"Oh, are you regretting it _now_? Are you scared that you pissed me off?? Do you realize your mistake? _Do ya_?" The light in Mark's eyes started to flicker, and his shoulders slumped, but his chin was high and his mouth was curved into a hysterical grin.

Jeno was shocked, to say the least. There was a hot flash of anger, followed by a fierce protectiveness.

_No wonder Donghyuck ended up like that. Mark's a psychopath._

Renjun, who had faded from Jeno's mind completely, was growling low in his throat, Jaemin glaring at the witch with sharp eyes.

"Donghyuck _is_ important, I was only trying to—"

"ONLY TRYING TO WHAT? EAT HIM? DID HE GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT JUST FOR YOU TO _EAT HIM_?!" As the last words flew from his mouth in a shriek, the bundles around the room unfurled into small sunflowers, of course, the exception being the large bundle of yellow above Doyoung's head. In their center was a bright ball of energy, resembling a light bulb, that shone down on the boys in golden rays.

_This guy just tried to harness the sun._

Jeno flinched, but before the light could do any harm the bulbs flickered and dimmed. The entire sequence was a lot less powerful than it was earlier, compared to when the blonde had maggots filling his cheeks. Mark fell to his knees, his hands snaking up to cradle his head.

That seemed to be Taeyong's cue, because he was already across the room to cradle the witch to his chest. He sent a dangerous look, one that said ' _explain_ ', to Doyoung, who shrugged and began to speak softly. "Minhyung." At the name, the witch looked up. "Do you understand now? You can't let your temper control you. We've talked about this. You could kill someone. Hell, if you hadn't been so worn out by what you did to Jeno and what you did to protect Donghyuck, you would've killed _us_." He gestured to the ceiling above him, where a sunflower was wilting. "Of _course_ I'm not upset at you. I was testing your limits, which, if you haven't noticed, has been getting easier and easier. Sooner or later its going to tire you out for good." He now addressed Taeyong, who was still looking at him with smoldering eyes. "Stay here and look after them. Grab Denny and tell him to take you-know-who back to his place and meet us at The Inky Octo afterwards."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Does Denny really need to be there? I know you two have—" Taeyong sounded cautious, like he was trying to intercept a fight.

"I'm not a child. What's in the past is in the past. Just do it. You need to stay here with Donghyuck." Doyoung's tone was final, and Jeno was honestly shocked that he got away with it.

_All that talk about disrespecting Taeyong and he ends up bossing him around._

Taeyong nodded slowly, his eyes full of reluctance, and he sent a small smile to the werewolf and warlock, who nodded in return. As soon as the kind man left the room with the witch, Jeno opened his mouth to ask questions, but he found he didn't even know where to start. It didn't matter, anyway, because all of the sudden there were hands on his shoulders and he could feel soft rain drops on his face.

—————

Jeno supposed this was Mightwick. He was amused to say the least, the buildings a strange sight from what he's used to seeing around where he lived with Donghyuck. He could hear seagulls, nearby, and he couldn't remember living near an ocean. He had never been to a beach, having lived in the heart of the city for his entire life, but had read about the sensation of feeling the salt water in the air. He could feel it, too.

The vampire hardly had time to think about it, though, because he was getting soaked and was still disoriented from Mark's Doyoung induced outburst. Two questions were on his mind: why was Doyoung so adamant on trying to get Mark upset, and why is Mark so easily set off. Maybe it was just a really, _really_ , short fuse.

Not only were the buildings a bit dated, and salt stained, but there were some structures that just didn't seem normal _at all_. One in particular caught his attention and, from the way Doyoung was dragging Jeno through the ally next to it, it seemed to be their destination. When they emerged from the cramped space, Jeno was met with a large harbor and the sound of waves lapping against damp wooden docks. He gasped, his eyes widening at the sight of the moon reflecting off of the unruly waves. The rain had picked up, darts of water splattering against Jeno's pale skin, and the several ships that resembled a pirate's, with an unexpected force. Doyoung grunted out an order, one that Jeno couldn't exactly catch, and tugged on Jeno's shirt so that he was forced to spin around. There it was, the strangest, most noticeable building that probably ever existed.

A giant ship in a bottle. Right there, looming above the two vampires, with a large, chipped wooden sign decorated with large blocky words that read 'The Inky Octo'. The bottle was giant, a large crack splitting through the side to act as an entrance. The ship on the inside was just as beat up, but the atmosphere of the place was off the charts. There were holes in the sides where the cargo hold should be that were filled with warm light and merry shadows.

"Doyoung, what are we doing here?"

"Waiting." His answer was choppy, as if he was trying his best to hold back from exploding.

"For Denny?"

"Yes."

"What did he do to you? You obviously hate him."

But Doyoung didn't care to answer. Instead, he reached behind Jeno to grab his collar and dragged him inside. It was a bar, Jeno had already guessed this from the simplicity of the name, and people of all different types were almost bursting out of the building. Jeno could point out other vampires now, from the way their blood sounded, and warlocks were entertaining their friends, dancing and making bottle caps hover mid-air. There was an octopus, an actual, pastel pink, octopus, behind the bar, smiling kindly and making use of all eight of his tentacles. Some were serving drinks, some collecting money, and some cleaning out gold brimmed mugs.

There was piano music, like the classic saloon tunes from old western movies, and it was coming from a _beautiful_ , slender woman who had long ears and pretty bronze hair kept up with two golden hairpins.

Doyoung walked through the suffocating crowd elegantly, a calm expression on his face that made the people around them make room for him. Jeno pressed himself against the older boy's back, shuffling close behind him in order to stay in the clearing he created.

Jeno was led to the very back of the space, where a cramped table sat in the corner. It was quieter there, and the blonde was able take a good look around at the interior. There was clearly more of the ship that was being used, proved by a rickety ladder that another employee, who was a six foot tall navy blue squid, was scuttling up and down, his little suction cups causing soft squelching noises to carry their way into Jeno's ears. There was a single, large chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, and several lanterns scattered around on the walls, each holding a candle or two.

Doyoung was seated in front of him, his back facing the rest of the establishment, and he was looking at Jeno with black, bothered eyes.

"What is it." It was less a question than it was a statement. "What is your problem?"

Doyoung shrugged, letting his eyes flit around before they landed back on the blonde. "This is where I met Taeyong."

Jeno scrunched his eyebrows. "And that makes you upset why?"

The black and white male rolled his eyes. "You're tiresome to talk to. Unfortunately you have nothing but questions, and my temper is only _so_ tame. Denny's family has _always_ been in the practice for the supernatural. For your information, I am one hundred and six years old, Denny's family and I go back far. His grandfather, actually, was somewhat close to me."

"What's your point?"

"You have a smart mouth. Be careful, I won't hesitate to tear it off." Doyoung was clearly messing with him, and Jeno chuckled lightly, but he was silent from then on, his eyes shifting around the room. "Denny and I don't get along well. However, being the diplomat that I am, I will not lay a hand on him."

Jeno couldn't help himself, connecting the dots before he could hold himself back. "Was he the one who starved you?"

The vampire in front of him froze, but quickly recovered, clearing his throat. "It was, as he insists, for research. I was stuck in that lab for seventy five years. Only starved for ten." His gaze was strong, and Jeno was surprised that the male had even answered at all. "Wait, how old were you when you got out?"

"Eighty."

_Wait, what?_

"Are you telling me you were taken there when you were _five_?!" Doyoung sent him a look that said ' _calm down_ '.

"His grandfather _turned me_ when I was five. Artificially. For _science_." The vampire sighed, rubbing his face with one hand and waving over a drink with another. Soon enough, there was a cuttlefish, another employee, handing Jeno's blood sucking companion a martini glass with blood and small heart on a tooth pick.

_Maybe it's a frog's_. Jeno scrunched his nose.

"Why are you deciding to tell me all of this?"

The drink was gone in one swig. "You asked, and I didn't want you to ask anything else. So, I told you everything."

The blonde nodded, feeling awkward without having anything to say. He took it as a challenge, though, to find another question. He really just wanted to lighten the mood before he had to kill someone. The boy might as well enjoy himself. He hid a smile, propping his head up on a hand.

"Well then tell me, are you dating Taey—"

"No."

At this point, Jeno was already accustomed to shoving any worries down into the depths of his mind, so he packed the knowledge of Doyoung's struggles down with his own shit and stifled a laugh. "Oh? So you like him, then?"

Even if Doyoung _was_ going to answer, Denny himself appeared next to him before he could.

His voice was high and breathy, annoying, and he was _extremely_ tall. "Let's get started, shall we?"

—————

"So, you're Jeno, then?" The tall human tilted his head to the side, genuine curiosity nearly pouring from his eyes. "What a pleasure it is to meet you. I'm sure you've heard of me, but I'm Denny."

"Hi. So— why are we walking again? Why did we bother to stop by that place?" Jeno was growing restless, his mind leaving constant reminders that he would be a murderer within the hour. Talking was his only way out.

"I assume Doyoung wanted a drink. It's much smarter for a vampire that is supervising a turning to drink beforehand, just to be certain that they don't try to steal the greenie's kill." The doctor spoke cheerfully, if not matter-of-factly, and he was looking at Jeno as if he expected him to laugh. "We can't have you drink anyone with special mojo in their blood either, so we're seeking a human in the city."

The trio were back in Jeno's hometown, taking slow steps along the sidewalk next to a familiar park from his childhood. There were many fond memories Jeno held of this place, from both his youth and his adolescence with Donghyuck, that would now all be washed away, replaced with blood and death.

Doyoung paced up to one of the trees that framed the large expanse of grass, leaning against it and examining his nails as if they were infinitely more important than this situation. "Jeno, come here."

The vampire's dark eyes were stony when they darted to Denny, who was crouched down to look at something on the pavement, but when they returned to look at Jeno they were kind, a complete shift in moods than before. "Hey...This is going to be tough. I know I sound like a dick most of the time, but there aren't many situations that I think deserve any delicacy. This, however, is something that you won't _ever_ forget. You need to listen to me, really listen." The wide eyes were still kind, but there was urgency in them. "Don't hesitate and _please_ , don't go with Denny. He _will_ ask you to. His methods work, _most_ of the time, but when it comes to vampires he doesnt have much solid research. So, he decides to take it upon himself to research with his own live subjects. He will make it sound like the best place ever. Do. Not. Go."

Jeno's breathing had picked up harshly, his chest heaving and the air in his lungs wheezing out of his mouth. "What about that guy you sent to his house?"

Doyoung now had hands on Jeno's shoulders, his serious demeanor and low tone somehow calming the baby vampire down. "You can't see him until after you turn. He's the one that killed you. I told Denny I would kill him if he tried anything on anyone, including you, but that doesn't mean he won't try to snatch one of you behind my back." He sent another look to the doctor, making sure he wasn't within earshot. "He's gonna wanna take you for a bit in order to keep you from going rabid. After turning, it's hard to hold back once you've got a taste. You're stronger than most, so I highly believe can just stay with us without much trouble."

Doyoung stepped back, his head snapping to the side to watch someone cross the street. They were jogging, a harness for their phone strapped around their bicep, earbuds stuffed snugly in each ear. Strange, to be running in the rain, but who was Jeno to judge? There was a gentle pat on his back, and when Jeno turned to look at Doyoung, the vampire was looking back with fatherly eyes. His demeanor changed in a blink, the man pulling him down into a crouch with the kind of eyes that a predator had when hunting prey, tactical and focused. Denny had wandered somewhere behind them, drifting farther into the grass in his curiosity. "They're going to pass in front of us. There is a street camera to the left that surveys this area. If the man pasts that point," Doyoung pointed a thin finger to a spot in the sidewalk about five feet away. "His disappearance will be caught on video. Grab him when he's right in front of you, and grab him fast." The sound of heavy footsteps was steadily growing closer. Doyoung nodded, an unsaid ' _you can do it_ ', and suddenly, he was gone from his side, and Jeno was left with his hammering heart and the poor, unsuspecting man taking a jog who smelled like pork belly.


	17. Huge updates and changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please bear with me for now, I promise when I’m done the story will make much more sense and be a lot more in depth and engaging.

Hi guys! This is going to suck, for you guys and myself, but its something I feel is extremely necessary to make the story more in depth and the plot run smoother than it currently does. There are going to be MAJOR changes to each chapter. I’m not talking about little character changes, or tiny plot changes, I’m talking huge story changes and huge character changes, as well as new character interactions and larger chapters because of it. Yes, this means that if you would like things to make sense from this point on, you’ll have to reread from start to finish, but honestly It will be worth it and the story you’ve taken the time to read up to this point will be far better. During this time of change, there wont be long gaps of inactivity because I will be posting the edited chapters, but the new chapter— the chapter that was supposed to fill this slot— will be postponed until these shifts are made. I hope that you guys will bear with me, and I hope this doesn’t discourage you from reading or enjoying, but even if it does, these changes will be taking place. Again, I hope you guys can hang in there and look forward to the improvements. If you have any questions about what kind of changes I’ll make or just anything to say in general, I would love to hear it. Your opinion matters to me, whether it be good or bad. Thank you.


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